Assassin's Creed Utopia
by tython055
Summary: After searching for a Piece of Eden, teenage Assassin Jason Kenway is transported to an alternate timeline where the Assassins are destroyed and the Templars have achieved in controlling the world through Academy City. Looking for a way home, it's up to him to revive the Brotherhood of this reality and liberate the City of Science along with new allies. (read to find out more)
1. Sequence 1: Prologue

**A/N: Hey there! I just want to let you know that I'm on writer's block for A Certain Xeno Warrior and TRON: Awakening. I've been playing video games for awhile and I thought, 'What if Toaru and Assassin's Creed crossover?'. This got me into the lore of Assassin's Creed again and I want to see where this would go. If you have any story direction ideas, feel free to share them in a review or PM me.**

**One more thing, some characters will be mentioned while others won't have huge roles so don't expect your favorite character to make an appearance anytime soon and don't ask. Otherwise, write your own story for those who are too lazy and ignorant to learn and try.**

**And now, without further ado, enjoy this brief prologue as more will come later.**

**Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit story meant to be for fun to read. Assassin's Creed is owned by Ubisoft and the 'A Certain' series belongs to Kamachi Kazuma. **

'_**Inspired by historical events and characters, this work of fiction is written by a multicultural team of various religious faiths and beliefs.'**_

**Prologue**

**Sequence 1**

**The Arctic Circle**

**13 December, 2017**

A blizzard surrounds the icy regions and freezing waters as a small ocean-going ship shines a light in the darkness. On that ship stood a man in his thirties looking out the window of the bridge, struggling to make out where exactly are.

"We've been searching this area three times, and we've found nothing. It's a wasteland, I tell you." He argues in his British accent.

"Don't be so sure yet, Tom. I'm confident that the North Pole is close." The American accented voice reassures him, revealing to be a boy no older than 15. The clothes he dons once belonged to the famous Assassin Thomas de Carneillon. After recovering the 700-year-old relic beneath an abandoned French catacomb, the boy modified the dark brown and black robes to fit in the modern era he currently is living, replacing the old pouches with newer ones and ditching the sword belt around the waist area but kept the throwing knives and empty curved dagger sheathe on its back with the same shoulder strap that bears the Assassin insignia as the buckle. For the boots, he replaced them with modern flat combat versions and kept the old leather bracer with metal plating for the left arm on top. The hidden blade, however, was replaced with a modern one but kept the sheathe for the blade for a more nostalgic look. The big leather belt, red sash dangling on the front and back, and drapes remain the same with the exception of the front drapes a bit shorter for more leg room on parkouring and free-running. Lastly, the traditional Assassin hood over the teenager's head along with the red neck scarf inside is also kept the way it is. Some of his colleagues complain earlier that it's too recognizable for their enemies, even if he modified them, to which he says that he likes the old school design. Plus, they look badass in his honest opinion.

Thomas "Tom" Faulkner scoffs at this. "But Jason, how is it that we'll find a Precursor site through this bloody storm? We should've told William about the Voynich manuscript we found in Japan!"

The young Assassin chuckles. "Relax, will you? I'm sure the Mentor won't mind that we use it to find an Isu artifact beneath the Arctic Circle. And since there's possibly another temple just many miles away from the already destroyed seismic one, maybe that could be an added bonus for us."

"I hope so. Otherwise, it's just another wild goose chase for us." He sighs at the boy's adventurous attitude. "You sometimes sound like your ancestor Edward. Must be in the Kenway blood, no doubt."

The boy's name is Jason Kenway. Descendant of the legendary Kenway lineage throughout the 18th century from Edward to Haytham to Ratonhnhaké:ton (otherwise known as Connor). He is also the first teenager and the youngest to reach the rank of Master Assassin when he recovered the _Prophet's Codex_ from the Templars (now known as Abstergo Industries) in Italy without approval from the Mentor William Miles during a reconnaissance mission. This inspired Jason to look for relics of the past as well as undiscovered Pieces of Eden and even studied the Isu language and was able to learn it in just a span of a few days, capable of reading the Voynich manuscript itself as no one until today could read it. However, considering the Templars controlling almost the entire world, Jason helped worked on the Brotherhood's own Animus project due to his genius intellect and once used Helix a few times to relive his ancestor's unedited memories back before he came into contact with the Assassins themselves.

Looking through the manuscript's pages, Jason shows Tom a drawing of an Apple of Eden. This confuses the latter.

"It's the Apple. How is this new to us?" Tom questions the teen. "All it does is create illusions and mind control people."

"That true. But when I read through the manuscript's writings, it has another feature similar to the one Connor used when he ended up in an alternate timeline where George Washington is king." He explains to his colleague and best friend.

"Wait, read?" The older man interrupts him. "I thought no one can understand the writings in the manuscript. How the hell are you able to know what it says?"

"Hey, studying Isu symbols and letters in a span of a few days allows me to know what this book really says. Also, I was somewhat bored. And no, I haven't told William about it before we unexpectedly found the Manuscript so don't ask why."

Tom nods in understanding, not wanting to when he had the time to learn to read and even speak Isu. "Duly noted. But anyways, what's so special about this Piece of Eden if you don't mind my asking?"

"To be honest, I'm not so sure for myself. The manuscript said something about it having the ability to enter other realities." Jason answers with a shrug.

"Other realities? Like different timelines?"

"No. I think it means parallel universes or something like that. Probably the Isu might have been looking for a way to escape the solar flare that killed off most of their kind over 75,000 years ago." The teen theorizes. "However, like I said, I can't be certain just yet. And the manuscript gave us a possible location of the artifact, which is at the center of the Arctic Circle. I'm surprised the Templars haven't had someone to learn and speak Isu."

"If that's true to what you've read Jason, then we need to make sure that the Templars never find this Apple. If they get their hands on it, who knows what they'll do."

Jason nods in agreement. "Agreed."

Suddenly, the ship has hit something as the two Assassin's fall onto the floor from the impact and they immediately got up.

"The hell was that?!" Jason shouts. "Have Abstergo been following us?"

"No, look!" Tom exclaims and points out the window.

Jason looks at Tom's direction and his eyes widen in amazement. "Whoa…"

Their small ship have arrived on the shores of a rocky island that's not known to any man on Earth. There were even some shipwrecks that date back to the time of the Vikings. Docking and jumping off the ship, Jason and Tom went for a closer look at the old vessels, only to find nothing but remains of dead Vikings and weapons scattered everywhere.

Tom crouches and briefly studies the bones with his gloved hands. "This looks to be a small convoy dating back to the 6th or 7th centuries."

"Yeah…" Jason says as he looks around the wreck sites. "They must've gotten lost with the other fleets and somehow ended up here in the Arctic. And man, it's cold as fuck!"

"I'll say." Tom agrees getting back up only to notice a crevice big enough for people to walk in. "See there?"

Jason notices it too and tosses the manuscript to Tom whom the latter catches before the former walks toward the crevice. "That could be a way to a Precursor Temple. I think I'm gonna go check it out."

"Hold on, you expect me to let you go alone?" Tom asks, not so sure if it's a good idea. "I think it's best if we head back to the Mentor and tell him about this place."

"Pffft. And what? Tell him about a place that we haven't confirm yet? Not a chance. And of course I'm going alone. I've lived on the streets since the day I was born. I can take care of myself. If I don't make it back to the ship in two hours, take the manuscript and leave without me, and tell William about this place, and ONLY him. The last thing we need is for this war to reach other realities, something that I can't let happen. One world is enough after all."

Jason then takes off running into the crevice, disappearing from Tom's line of sight before the latter could argue back. The older Assassin sighs in frustration with the boy not listening to what he has to say.

"Teenagers these days." Tom mutters to himself as he heads back to the ship. "I don't know what I'm going to do with him."

**(Time Skip)**

As the young Assassin free-runs and parkours tall rocks he sees a door that looks to be Isu in origin. However, the door is sealed shut and no way inside.

"Great, how the hell am I supposed to get in now?" Jason mumbles in frustration as his gloved hand is on the door. Suddenly, he realizes something. "Wait…"

Using Eagle Vision, Jason sees a hidden symbol on the doorway recognizing it. "That symbol on the wall. Holy shit, that's the tetractys. And if I'm right…"

Jason's vision goes back to normal and takes a deep breath before saying the password out loud. "72."

Suddenly, the tetractys symbol on the door glows in an electric blue hue and the door slowly descends downward into the floor of the entrance.

"_Just like the door to the Coliseum Vault." He recalls with a smirk on his face, as it was too easy for him to solve the puzzle in opening the temple door._

Jason then walks down the dark stairway as it is taking him deep beneath the center of the Arctic Circle. When he reach the end of the steps, he looks around his surroundings and deduces that he's in a huge cavern with a tall pillar in the center, surrounded by a deep pit that seems too dark to see. And at the top lies a pedestal where the artifact is resting on.

"That must be where the Apple is." Jason concludes aloud. He then smaller pillars of rock in the huge gap. "Looks like that's my way to get up there."

He then jumps across and grabs hold of the first pillar's ledge when the pillars becomes unstable as Jason perches on top. It topples forward and he jumps to another one and another until he makes it to the last one before grabbing onto the wall of the Isu-structured tower. Looking back, he sees that the other pillars are gone with no way back across.

"_I'll worry about that after I've reached the top." He says to himself as he wants to focus climbing first._

A little while later, Jason finally reaches the top of the tower. And standing before him is the Apple of Eden (the size of a baseball) itself giving off a glowing gold aura.

"To think that I get to hold onto one." He comments as he slowly picks the Apple up with a single gloved hand until the golden metallic orb begins to shine brighter, forcing him to cover his eyes.

"Gah! So bright. Jeezus, turn down the damn light, will you?" He complains as he accidentally drops the Apple onto the ground and the light covers his vision before everything went black.

**(Time Skip)**

Jason's eyes slowly open up and wakes up as his head is aching from that blinding light illuminated by the Apple. When the paining headache stopped and his vision stopped being blurry, he notices that he's in an alleyway of sorts and looks up to see that it is already nighttime. But then, he realizes that he dropped the artifact and looks down as there's no glow coming from it. Picking it up, the young Master Assassin puts the Apple in his belt pouch and starts wondering what to do next.

"_The Apple must've transported me to another part of the world." He says to himself before sighing. "Well, I can't contact Tom since Abstergo is monitoring communications, so I guess I'll find my way back home then. But first, I need to find out where exactly am I."_

He looks up to see an abandoned declining church before smiling again. "A bird's eye view is just what I need right now."

Climbing up the bell tower with his skills he picked up from the Animus's 'Bleeding Effect', he perches on a ledge takes a better view with his surroundings. Unfortunately, the city's skyline he's seeing now is nothing like he has ever seen before and on his right, he could see another city that he's been to before a few times. Not to mention, a really tall and large tower that's above the clouds.

**UBISOFT** presents

**ASSASSIN'S CREED  
\- UTOPIA -**

**Japan**

**23 January, 2023**

**5:15 A.M.**

"_That's Tokyo. So I'm back in Japan then. You know what, I should contact Tom just to be safe."_

Jason brings up the frequency number in his earpiece underneath his hood, but only received static on his end and learned that the number he's trying to reach does not exist, confusing him.

"_None of this makes any sense. If this is really Japan, then what city am I in exactly? I've never seen a city with so many modern buildings before (not counting real-life cities, readers). Before I can do anything else, I probably should get out of these robes and hide the Apple where no one would even look for. I'm guessing walking in public with these old threads is out of the question, no doubt."_

He then spreads his arms and performs a Leap of Faith before landing in a bale of hay, considering carts full of them in urban cities have been very rare and are already no longer in use in the present. Coming out of the landing spot inside the old cathedral, Jason finds it odd for a haystack to be placed here though he shouldn't question the logic behind it, so he didn't bother finding out.

**(Time Skip)**

Already in civilian clothes, he walks on the streets of this unknown city as it is already sunrise and looks for directions for a library. Thankfully, there was a map of the entire city displayed and learned its name.

"Academy City, huh?" the Assassin wonders. "Strange name for a city I've never heard of. And the library should be… there. In the first school district."

After taking quicker routes he found useful to him, he was already inside the library. And being the bookworm he is, he learns that the history is the same with the exception that Abstergo Industries and Animus technology not existing, including the 2012 solar flare crisis (which never will come to pass in the future). This would mean that the Apple in his possession transported him to an alternate timeline, proving that the theories in the Voynich manuscript's writings are true when he touched the artifact. With no other choice in the situation he's in, Jason decides to blend in with the people of this reality and lay low until he has found a way to return to his own timeline.

As for what info he could learn about Academy City, it's a sovereign city-state that use to be Tokyo's old industrial district and is independent from the Japanese government. It is also home to people with psychic supernatural powers called Espers ranging from Levels 0 to 5 (with the existence of 7 famous Level 5s). And considering himself as an illegal immigrant and popping out of nowhere with no official records, Jason will have to forge fake ones and pose as a Level 0 to avoid suspicion while looking for a way home with Academy City's advanced technology. For now, he needs to gather food and supplies as he decides to live in the old small cathedral and maybe find secret tunnels beneath it so that he might get around the city faster undetected. And after that, he'll continue learning about this new world that he's curious of and see if any Precursor artifacts exist here as well. If they do, then it's his job to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands, especially from the scientists of Academy City as he has read a few online articles about the Level 6 shift experiment that Espers would wield the power of God. While he is glad that the people behind it are behind bars and no longer a threat, their actions disgusts him because these corrupted power-hungry scientists uses children as test subjects to achieve their twisted dream of creating a godly being. Therefore, he'll help in any way he can and continue the fight against evil and tyranny for the free will of the human race just like he did in his world. No matter the cost.

**A Few Hours Later…**

After purchasing food, clothing, medical supplies, and a laptop (which he later modified to prevent hackers from spying or tracking him) Jason went to explore the cathedral when he stumbled upon an empty small room and accidentally leaned on a stone panel on the wall, opening a secret stairwell on the floor. With a raised eyebrow, he walks down the steps until he has reached another door down a small hallway. Walking towards it, he notices old banners on the walls with the familiar black Assassin insignia. Hoping on what place he's found; he then opens the old wooden door and is shocked at what he has discovered.

"_I think I just found an Assassin hideout." The Assassin deduces as he looks around the small hideout. "But this place looks to be a few centuries old and I guess it's been abandoned for whatever reason."_

The place is a mess, however, as there are cobwebs and dust everywhere. Turning his head on his right, he notices a shelf that only has a few old books written in Japanese. The first one reads _'The Assassin-Templar History'_ and through its Japanese writings he learns that the most of their history is the same until that there's no page about post-WWII events, which made Jason suspicious and confused.

"No, no. That can't be it. Where's the rest of it? There has to be more than this."

Noticing a piece of paper on the shelf, he picks it up and sees that it's a message of sorts. It reads:

'_**Tokyo**_

_**August 16, 1953**_

_**Whoever reads this, I am out of time. The Templars have already wiped out other factions the globe and are already killing us off one by one here in Japan now. It's a 'Great Purge' out there and they are fulfilling their dream in the form of a city where it will one day have people with extraordinary gifts. They are calling it Academy City, and it is already too late to stop them.**_

_**I write this message so that the Assassins shall one day rise again and liberate the people that are manipulated and influenced by those with their own gains in their so-called vision of peace by enforcing order. But not in our time, unfortunately. If you are reading this in the future, then it is up to you rebuild the Brotherhood.**_

_**In this sanctuary you're standing in, there is a book that details the entire history of both Assassins and Templars, going back to the time of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar including plans of our weapons and the tenets of our creed. Lastly, there is also a journal I have written as it houses my research on a Precursor artifact hidden somewhere beneath the surface and they have not found it yet.**_

_**If you are willing to do whatever it takes to save civilizations from their clutches, then be prepared for the truth of the history you thought you know.**_

_**We are counting on you, Assassin. And may our Brotherhood last until the end of time.**_

_**Signed,**_

_**Saten Hideo, Mentor of the Japanese Brotherhood'**_

"That means… I'm the last Assassin on the planet. And Templars now control the world through controlling Academy City." Jason's eyes widen in realization and shock at this revelation of the Assassins in this timeline. "But if he says that there's a Piece of Eden beneath the city, then it is up to me to find it and prevent it from falling into Templar hands. I cannot let that happen. For the future of not only the Brotherhood, but for the future of mankind so that they are free to choose their own path. And no matter how long, I will stop them. Whatever it takes."

**End of Sequence 1**

**A/N: Follow, review, and favorite this story. Again, if you have any chapter ideas, PM or leave a review and I might choose a co-writer.**


	2. Sequence 2: Chapter 1

**A/N: For every start of a new sequence, Jason will recap some of the events he has experienced in his life. However, the story will remain in 3****rd**** person.**

**That is all.**

**Sequence 2****: Chapter 1**

'_**It has been three months since my arrival into this new reality. Knowing that I have no resources and allies, I've waited in the shadows to study those that may be sympathetic to the people of Academy City. But I don't know if they are willing to give up their morals of taking lives to save many. And even if they are willing to, can they be trusted? I will have to wait and see.**_

_**Other than that, I've already hacked into the Bank – which took a lot longer than I thought it would – and implemented fake records as a Level 0 to keep the city's rulers and authorities off my backs for now. For allies, I have found a lead on who: an Esper targeting secret outposts without any knowledge of who the Templars are. I've already begun investigating this matter and hope to meet whoever this person is.**_

_**As for this journal, I've learned that it once belonged to an Assassin who led the Japanese Brotherhood before the worldwide purge in '53. In his writings mentions of a Piece of Eden beneath Academy City, but there's no further information about it as some of the pages are missing. It looks like he must've teared them out and burned them to prevent the Templars from ever learning about the artifact. However, his writings also mentions a key to gain access to the hidden temple but is in pieces that are now scattered all over Japan, and the vaguest of clues Hideo left behind could lead to their whereabouts. Only time, skill, and a bit of luck will tell.'**_

**School District 15**

**10 April, 2023**

**5:13 P.M.**

Jason stands on the streets of 15's marketplaces looking for the Esper he's tracking down. The outfit he wears was crafted discreetly - per request - at a tailor shop that resembles an outlaw but with the appearance of an Assassin (Jacob Frye's Gunslinger Coat from AC Syndicate) but more of a 21st century look with the color mainly raven black with the secondary color being Assassin red. He wears black leather gloves and an Assassin Gauntlet (Black Leather variation) that somehow Hideo Saten was given to as a gift by the British Brotherhood. While his right hidden blade is inside his right sleeve, his left one bears the gauntlet that also includes another hidden blade and an Assassin insignia-shaped grappling hook (rope launcher). It also features brass-colored armor plating that completely covers the glove, as well as embedded brass knuckles and a dart gun on the back of the forearm, which now uses both poison and knockout darts at unsuspecting targets. As for weapons, that was a little tricky due to the laws Academy City have in place. He was able to meet with a weapons dealer in the black market and was able get a cane-sword (Adept Cane-sword, with the exception that it's blade can extend longer like a normal one-handed sword) hanging on his left hip that his Assassin coat conceals, a six-shot revolver on his right hip (same place where the cane-sword is hidden), throwing knives inside one of his pouches, and even a kukri knife also hidden in his coat. In other words, he looks like Jacob Frye minus the gangs and openly drawing attention to himself, of course.

As his hood is still up, Jason uses Eagle Vision to locate the vigilante Esper. His surroundings are all black and white as certain people are in color. For example, Anti-Skill or Judgement officers are highlighted as blue, green for allies, white for certain hiding spots, red as enemies, and gold as targets or points of interest. His variation of Eagle Vision is different, however, because he can tag targets and see them highlighted when out of the ability or not, even through walls or other obstacles.

Suddenly, he notices someone highlighted in gold and exits out of Eagle Vision, deducing that the person is the one Jason is looking for.

"There you are." He says to himself as the person walks in a different direction.

Tailing the Esper without getting too close, Jason blends in with the crowd who are busy going about their business through shopping or talking to each other.

"_I still can't believe most of the city's population consists of people my age or younger. Just what were the Templars thinking?"_

A few minutes after tailing the target to an alleyway, Jason runs after the person who started running. Unfortunately, the Assassin lost him at a dead end only to hear a gun clicking from behind.

"Don't even think about it." The person warns him. "Why the hell were you following me?"

"I'm not here to kill you if that's what you're asking." Jason answers with a calm tone in his voice. "You've been targeting outposts from what I've heard, and you seemed to only piss them off so far."

"How'd you-?!"

"Word gets out quickly when you've tried to raid them without knowing who you're dealing with."

"And I should believe you why?" The Esper questions him with a raised eyebrow.

"You got my attention and I want to help you. That's all you need to know." Jason assures the one pointing a gun at the former.

Turning around slowly, Jason got a look of who this person is. He is around 17-years-old and has brown hair with green eyes. He wears a dark green hoodie jacket and holds a five-seven pistol, already trained on the Assassin.

Sighing, the Esper puts his weapon away but remains on guard. "Fine. I'll take you to the hideout and fill you in on the details when we get there."

Jason then follows him as the older boy brings him back to his home which is close by in the 15th district. However, the Esper was a bit more cautious when looking left and right, catching the young Assassin's attention.

"You seemed trouble. Why so cautious all of a sudden?" He asks before being silenced.

"Shhh! Quiet!" He whispers to Jason. "They might hear us?"

"Who's they?" The Assassin asks, already knowing the answer.

"I can't tell you yet. Not until we're away from prying eyes." The Esper shakes his head but Jason grabs his arm, not letting go.

"Listen, I don't have all day. You know something. If you can't tell me what it is, I can't help you. So spit it out." He demands, already losing his patience as he let's go of the boy's arm.

Taking a deep breath, the Esper spills the beans. "A few months ago, people have been taken off the street from a shadowy organization in Academy City's Underworld. I know little about them except that they have been controlling this city from the very start of its foundation."

"And how did you get this sort of information?"

"I-I've been eavesdropping them and tried to expose them with the evidence I gathered, but they somehow knew what I was up to and attempted to kill me at my dorms. Without the evidence, I couldn't even go back to my old life now since they know everything about me!"

Looking around, Jason has a bad feeling they are being watched. "We should keep moving. I have a feeling that we're being watched."

**(Time Skip)**

A little while later, they are already inside the Esper's rented apartment. The older teen brought out a USB drive and hand it over to him.

"What's this?" Jason asks.

"This flash drive contains everything I've gathered as best I could about the people responsible for making people disappear."

"But why would they do that?" The Assassin further asks.

"I believe it was because they found out who they truly are either by accident or by sheer curiosity."

"Seems that didn't go well for them. But why were you attacking certain locations?"

"I was already out of options! What was I supposed to do?! Let them continue their reign on this city?!"

"But by attacking them without knowing who you're up against is stupid and reckless." Jason lectures. "And you think by destroying their safehouses will be the end of them? They control over almost every branch of society and a head on attack isn't the way to stop them."

"You know more about them than I do. Who are you really? And who exactly are these people?"

"It doesn't matter now. I need to get you out of here and bring you back to my place."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm already a dead man anyways." He refused with a shameful look on his face.

"Don't be stupid! If you stay, they are coming for you and will kill you." He attempts to persuade him but the Esper will not listen.

"Then you must finish what I couldn't. Get this drive away from them and do whatever it takes to stop-."

Suddenly a shot was heard outside as a bullet went through a window and shot through the poor Esper's head and he collapses on the floor blood spilling everywhere, catching Jason off guard.

"Damn!" He curses before running to the window and looks downward at a sniper on an opposite rooftop. The sniper who assassinated the witness got up and started running. "I need to catch him before he escapes. He's going to pay for killing an innocent."

Jason jumps out of the window and fires his rope launcher, ziplining down to the position the sniper took and lands with a roll before chasing after him. The killer jumps down to an emergency exit and enters another building as the Assassin follows him inside. The chase didn't last long, and Jason was able to catch up to him where the killer fails to open another emergency exit when the Assassin's throwing knife pierces through his hand and he cries out in agony, gripping his bleeding hand. Turning around he was met with a sucker punch to the face, breaking his nose as it too, bleeds. He collapses on the floor as Jason grabs him by the collar.

"Why did you kill him?" He demands, wanting to end his life.

"So it's true. An Assassin lives." He answers, much to Jason's shock. "Doesn't that surprise you? We have eyes and ears everywhere. Academy City is not yours to take. We have achieved our dream of a utopia that has been yearned for so long. We've already won."

"Killing an innocent says otherwise, Templar. He and others before him have seen who you truly are, and that will only arouse suspicion to the people in this city. It will be your downfall."

The Templar sniper laughs. "Perhaps. You can kill me, but you can NEVER destroy the Templar Order. With the disappearance of Aliester Crowley, we now control this city without him holding us back on our full potential and bring TRUE peace that the Father of Understanding has intended for us."

"What are you talking about? Who's this Aliester you speak of?"

"Ah, I thought you would know. Oh wait, you don't since we've hunted your kind down in less than a few weeks and have been ruling the world through Academy City for the last 70 years."

"Then I will make sure I hunt every last one of you and liberate this city from your hands."

"I doubt it, given that I've already called backup before you stopped me from escaping."

Jason then hears sirens and a chopper outside of the building and turns his head to see Anti-Skill forming a perimeter outside the building.

"You should've known about the uniform I wear, Assassin. I wonder how Anti-Skill will feel about one of their own is attacked." He gloats as he laughs.

"ARGH!" Jason cries out in anger before flicking his left hidden blade out and stabs the Templar in his throat, killing him. The blade then sheathes back with another flick of his wrist and throws the dead body on the floor.

"Requiescat in pace, you bastard." He says in a malicious tone.

Outside of the building, a woman in her late 30s holds out a megaphone and speaks through it.

"We have the place surrounded! You are under arrest for the murder of a student and for attacking a fellow member of Anti-Skill!" The woman known as Aiho Yomikawa says with authority.

Back inside the building, Jason paces back and forth as he doesn't have a lot of ideas to escape from the authorities.

"They've got the whole building surrounded. No way past them without being spotted, so going outside isn't the best idea. Not with that chopper they have with them." He plans as he activates Eagle Vision and sees that some of Anti-Skill are preparing to breach and clear. However, the ones that are making a move on the Assassin from downstairs are highlighted red, meaning they must be undercover Templar agents ready to either kill or capture him. The Assassin could take them out, but this would only make the situation worse as this would only draw attention to himself, therefore he'd break the second tenet of the creed: hiding in plain sight, which gives the Brotherhood strength.

Searching for a way out, Jason notices a wall highlighted in gold, meaning that it could be a secret entrance to the abandoned tunnels the Assassins once used. Knowing that there's no other way to fully avoid violating the second tenet, Jason hides behind cover as the door to downstairs explodes and the Templars in their Anti-Skill guise sweep to secure the area.

"Check his vitals!" One says to another as he points the already dead body of the killer, also in Anti-Skill uniform.

When the second agent puts his fingers on the body's neck for a pulse, he found none.

"He's dead, sir." He informs the squad leader.

"Damn." The squad leader curses. "Spread out and find the son of a bitch! He must still be in the building!"

Before they could do anything else, a grenade is thrown from another room, catching them off guard.

"Shit, grenade!"

But it was already too late as it detonates, creating a blinding flash of light that momentarily blinds them. This was Jason's chance as he charges in and use his hidden blades to take them out quickly as the Templars are distracted. With the squad eliminated, the Assassin dashes down the stairs and enters the room where the wall has been highlighted. Already on the clock before the rest of Anti-Skill comes in, Jason find an Assassin insignia marked behind the books on one of the shelves and sees a slot that's meant to open the hidden door with a hidden blade. Flicking his left blade out with his wrist, he puts it in the slot and turns the lock mechanism before pulling the blade out and sheathes it back in just as the wall opens up. Hearing that they are already inside the building, Jason makes his escape but not before closing the hidden entrance and locking it shut so it is not discovered.

**(Time Skip)**

**Assassin Sanctuary (beneath the old church)**

**School District 10**

**9:04 P.M.**

After finding his way back to the hideout (now with his food and supplies stored there, along with an isolated network and power supply over the months he spent renovating the place) in the tunnels, Jason is currently decrypting the copied files he was given on the data drive. To be honest, hacking is exactly his strong suit and can only bypass some security but not ones with bigger firewalls as he barely got past the first set. When the decryption process finished, the Assassin takes a look at what he's seeing on his laptop screen.

"_This must be a list of names for every high-ranking Templar in charge of this city. Unfortunately, the list makes no mention of their Grandmaster and the inner sanctum members." He deduces before looking over the next copied file. "These emails… How is this possible? Only Hideo knows about the existence of the artifact beneath Academy City and he died protecting the information! Damn! This is getting me nowhere! If I'd only got him to safety, he would've been helpful. He's dead because I didn't make him leave. And his death is on now me."_

Looking at the small chest that holds the Apple, Jason sighs. "What if I'm truly stuck here? What then if all my efforts of returning home is for nothing? What then?"

A little while later, Jason is already in his bed in another room inside the hidden sanctuary.

"If the Templars are already in search of the Piece of Eden, then I need to find it before they do. But that'll have to wait. Because tomorrow is my first official day of school her in this city."

**To be Continued…**


	3. Sequence 2: Chapter 2

**A/N: Before we begin, I have an important announcement to make. If any of you are interested in certain Toaru characters being descendants of the main protagonists of Assassin's Creed, you'll have to pick 1-2 bloodlines per character. the Kenway bloodline is already worked out for the OC Jason but you'll have to see who the descendant of Altair is for one of the Toaru characters.**

**The AC characters chosen for each of the three descendants are:**

**Ezio**

**Arno**

**Shay**

**With that out of the way, enjoy the second chapter of Sequence 2.**

**Sequence 2****: Chapter 2**

**Sakugawa Middle School**

**School District 7**

**11 April, 2023**

**8:40 A.M.**

It is a bright and beautiful morning in Academy City as the sun shines inside Class 1-D where the second year middle school students are chatting about the usual stuff teenagers would always talk about. But today, the students of Sakugawa are getting a new transfer student.

"All right, class. Settle down." Class 1-D's homeroom teacher says to his fellow students. "Before we get started, we have a new transfer student that will joining us today."

This got the students to chatter among themselves as they wonder who it could be. Most of the girls in the class hope that it's a handsome boy while most guys hope it's a cute girl. The door opens as the new student walks in and presents himself in front of the class. He has black hair with aqua blue eyes as he wears the Sakugawa summer uniform. Although the boys in the class are disappointed with the reveal, some of the girls find his appearance to be cute looking. But upon looking at his facial features, the class realize that he's a foreigner outside of Japan and he seems to have a body build of a high schooler.

"This young man is from America and is entirely new in Academy City, so I want you all to go easy on him." The teacher briefly explains before nodding to his new student. "Go ahead and introduce yourself."

The teenage boy steps forward and bows slightly to his new classmates. "Hello, everyone. My name is Jason Kenway. I hope that we get to know each other well."

"Alright, Mr. Kenway. You may take your seat next to Miss Saten if you would be so kind."

This caught Jason off guard with the name the teacher mentions but the young Assassin complies as he takes his assigned seat.

"_Saten? Like Hideo Saten?" He wonders as curiosity was on his mind about the girl's last name._

His thoughts were soon interrupted as Class 1-D's homeroom teacher speaks again.

"Now then. With that out of the way, turn to pages 114 in your textbooks…"

**3:15 P.M.**

School has finally ended for the day as many students walk out of the front gate. Meanwhile, two certain girls are talking about the new boy in class as they have their own opinions about him.

"The new student hasn't interacted with anyone besides concentrating in class, even during lunch." The flower haired girl, Kazari Uiharu, shares her comments with her close friend.

"Yeah. Maybe he's shy making friends here or maybe he just wants to focus on his studies more, which no offense to him, is just plain boring. I mean, who would want to just work without having a bit of fun in their life?" The pretty long haired girl, Ruiko Saten, agrees.

"I guess that's sometimes how people are like that around others, Saten."

Just now, they notice Jason walk pass them and seems to be out of his uniform as he is wearing a black coat and black leather gloves along with a suspicious looking armor plated bracer on his left sleeve.

Saten has a sly grin on her face as an idea forms in her head. "You know… I wonder who this Kenway guy really is. Why don't we go introduce ourselves to him, Uiharu?"

The Level 1 girl notices her friend's mischievous look. "Saten, it's probably better if we just leave him alone right now."

"Oh don't be such a baby! Remember when we befriended Haruue last year? Besides, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to at least say hi to him."

Uiharu stops and recalls their time when they immediately became friends with her during the Poltergeist incident.

"Okay, you do have a point and I suppose you're right." She honestly admits to the Level 0 before the latter grabs her by the wrist and pulls her along toward Jason.

**Moments earlier…**

Jason walks out of the front gates of Sakugawa finally out of the summer uniform he has to wear.

"_That damn uniform isn't what I'm use to. I prefer wearing my own clothes, thank you very much."_

"Excuse me!" A girl's voice calls out to him.

His thoughts were interrupted and turns around to see the girl is a little too close, startling him.

"Gah! Gosh sakes, don't scare me like that!" He says while trying to take a deep breath.

Saten chuckles sheepishly with a grin. "Sorry, sorry. Must've gotten too close."

"It's fine." He accepts her apology. _"The girl sitting next to me in class… wow... she's remarkably beautiful, no doubt…"_

Indeed she is. Her long black hair is let down and has a single white flower on the left side of her hair, and her eyes were ocean blue, along with her skin tone being peach white.

Snapping out of his little trance on the girl's beauty, he decides to formally introduce himself to the girl and her best friend beside him.

"I believe we haven't formally introduced ourselves in class." He admits as he holds out a hand to her. "Jason Kenway. Though I'm pretty sure you know that already."

Saten giggles a bit as she shakes his hand. "Yeah. You were sitting next to me. I'm Ruiko Saten and this here is my friend Kazari Uiharu."

"It's nice to meet you, Kenway." Uiharu greets with a bow and friendly smile. "I hope that we'd get along with you in Class 1-D."

"Looking forward to it, Uiharu."

"So Kenway-."

"Please, call me Jason. I'm not really comfortable with someone in Japan calling me by my last name."

This only got Saten to lightly blush on her cheeks as she hasn't call anyone by their first name before. And it seems that this boy is kindly asking her.

"O-Oh. U-um. Okay, Jason."

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"N-No! It's fine. I've never called anyone else outside my family their first name before."

Just then, Uiharu's cell phone rings and she answers it.

"Hey, Shirai." Uiharu greets her friend and partner. "What?! A murder? *sighs* Right. I'm on my way to you now."

The Level 1 hangs up her phone and puts on her green Judgement officer armband.

"What's that about?" Saten asks her friend.

"Shirai says something about a murder that happened last night. She says that a high schooler was shot in the head in a rented apartment."

Saten's eyes widen in shock. "Oh my god. Who would do something like that?"

Jason, however, believes that it was his own fault for not saving him and has a sad look on his face before changing his expression to avoid suspicion.

"Well, I better head to the 15th School District to meet up with her. It's nice to meet you, Jason. And I'll see you later, Saten."

"See ya later!" Saten waves to her friend as Uiharu leaves in the other direction, leaving the former and Jason all by themselves.

"So… what now?" She breaks the silence to him.

"Don't know." He answers. "Maybe you can show me around some places in the 7th School District? It's my first time here after all."

The girl's eyes lit up with excitement. "How can I say no to that? Come on! I'll show you the best places that you'll love in this entire district!"

He chuckles at how excited she is as he then follows her to certain places in the district. "Well lead on, then. I'm looking forward to this tour of yours."

**5:25 P.M.**

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" The Level 0 asks him as the two teens are sitting on a bench finishing their ice cream after she gave Jason the tour.

"Sure. I don't mind. What is it?"

"I was wondering what Level you are."

"If you're asking if I have powers, no, I don't. I'm just a Level 0." He lies, considering that Eagle Vision isn't really an Esper ability since he was born with it (And before you ask, he's not a Gemstone. He's an Isu-human hybrid) and not really an Esper at all. "Why ask me that question?"

Saten becomes a little nervous but calms herself down. "It's just that… I'm also a Level 0. Always have been. When I first came to Academy City when I was younger, I was so excited to have powers of my own. I even had one the highest scores in the power curriculum program!"

This interested Jason as he continues to hear her some of her backstory.

"But when the results from my first system scan came in, I was ranked a Level 0. And they told me, 'you have no talent whatsoever. You're just a Level 0.'" She continues before turning her head towards the Assassin, smiling. "But that's all in the past. So I've accepted for who I am, even to this day. Maybe I might develop one with my own Personal Reality someday."

He smiles at her courage and determination in having faith in herself.

"I'm glad that you aren't giving up on your dream just yet. Maybe there are other things you could become if it doesn't work out for you in the end." He jokingly suggests to her.

"I'll keep that in mind then." She chuckles before the two become silent before bringing up another topic. "What about you? What's your story?"

He raises his eyebrow suspiciously at her mischievous expression on her face. "Already asking me so many questions. What am I to you, anyway?"

"There are some reasons. Like when you don't interact with the other classmates, or when you are so focused on your studies than having a bit of fun."

Jason mockingly felt offended by her words. "Oh, how your harsh words wound me."

"You're really a funny guy." She laughs again. "I like that. And another reason could be that you seem interesting for some reason."

"Why?"

"I don't know." She shrugs, not knowing the answer. "From what I can tell, you seem to be more adventurous and sometimes serious. Call it a 'girl's intuition.'"

"Wow. You're really good with your observations when picking your friends." He compliments the girl.

"T-Thanks." She lightly blushes on her cheeks. "It came in handy when I befriended Misaka."

"Hold on." He interrupts her with a surprised look. "Mikoto Misaka? As in the Railgun, the 3rd ranked Level 5 in the city?"

"The same one." She nods in confirmation before an idea pops up. "I know! Since tomorrow is Friday, why don't Uiharu and I introduce you to her and Shirai after school?"

This seemed to be moving too fast for Jason as Saten is so quick in making new friends without taking it slow.

"Listen, I'm not sure if-." He begins to argue but she stops him.

"It's alright." She assures him. "This is Mikoto Misaka we're talking about here! Plus, she's a walking taser if you catch my meaning, so don't worry about it! It'll be fun!"

He thinks for a moment and realizes that maybe he should get to know more about Academy City in someone else's point of view. After all, it could prove useful in his fight against the Templars and their control over the city and the whole planet.

"Touché." He says, understanding her point.

Saten then checks her iPhone as it is half an hour till curfew is in effect. She then gets off of the bench and grabs her stuff.

"Well, it's almost curfew and we should be getting back to our dorms."

"Right." He nods as he stand up. "I should go too. Got a lot of work to do, as a matter of fact. But thank you for the tour you gave me today."

"You're welcome. I hope that we get to know each other more."

"Yeah. I hope so, too." He agrees before turning around and begins to walk elsewhere. "You a have a good night, Saten."

"You too. Goodnight, Jason." She waves farewell to her new friend in class. However, she forgot something else as well. "Wait!"

He stops walking and looks back at her, listening to what she wants from him.

"Since I'm calling you by your first name, call me by mine as well." Saten requests as she blushes again. "It's only fair, after all."

Jason looks away from her and shakes his head as he chuckles and then laughs aloud confusing her before calming down.

"Sure thing… Ruiko." He says to the girl as he then walks away from her

She softly gasps when he called her by her first name, leaving her cheeks turning from pink to red and her blue eyes widen. Ruiko shakes her head trying to calm herself down again as she then goes to the other direction and heads back to her dorm.

**Thirty Minutes earlier…**

**School District 15**

**4:59 P.M.**

"So you're telling us that the weapon that killed a high school student was a sniper?" Uiharu asks Yomikawa as they are walking down the hallway of the crime scene that took place last night.

"The people over at Anti-Skill confirms the type of round it was fired from." The woman confirms to the two Judgement officers beside her.

"Was there any security footage of where the sniper took position?" Uiharu's partner, Kuroko Shirai, asks further.

"No. It was either the recording was disabled or destroyed, but we still don't know as of yet." The Anti-Skill officer shakes her head in denial.

The three arrive to see that the dead body of an Anti-Skill officer (secretly a Templar hitman) being placed in a large bag but was left unzipped for both the part-time middle school girls and the older woman to get a closer look at the victim.

"As you can see here, the officer's left hand was stabbed by what appears to be a throwing knife and was then stabbed through the throat by the same weapon, ending his life." One of the forensic boys explained their report.

Kuroko looks at the corpse's stabbed throat and tries to piece together the clues they have gathered.

"Great." Uiharu sighs in frustration. "Not only do we have a killer that's an expert marksman, but also an expert knife thrower."

"It would seem that way, Uiharu. But I don't think his throat was stabbed by a throwing knife." Kuroko says, putting together some of the clues as best as she can.

"What do you mean, Shirai?" The Level 1 asks in confusion as she, Yomikawa, and the forensic boys wonder what the Level 4 Teleporter is talking about.

"Notice the hole where he was stabbed from." She points out the gaping hole. "It's still a piercing weapon that killed this officer, but the hole's too small for a throwing knife to be used for the killing blow."

"So in other words, the killer used a different weapon?" Uiharu concludes.

"Exactly. The blade's width must've been narrow enough for it to kill him." She answers her friend's conclusion. "Whatever knife he was using, it looks as if it was only meant for discretion, clean kills."

Before they could speculate any further, several people wearing black body armor with red cross emblems on their shoulders enter the crime scene and begin to take over the investigation, leaving everyone confused and frustrated.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yomikawa demands.

"This investigation is now under our jurisdiction now." The leader of the group explains. He is a man in his early 40s and is British descent. He wears a black business suit with a red necktie underneath a black trench coat and has a plain silver ring on his left ring finger that bears a red cross on it.

"And who the hell are you?" She asks the older man. "You and your friends can't just-."

"Reginald Birch the Second, member of Academy City's board of directors and your new boss." He introduces himself. "In light of what's happened last night, your investigation and any evidence you've gathered will be turned over to a new Anti-Skill division."

This only angered Yomikawa but she kept her cool and wants to know who made the decision. "On whose orders?"

"Ten members of the board such as myself against two, including the Chairman himself." He calmly confirms. "Now if you would be so kind, you and your group are dismissed from the case, so we'll take it from here."

"But-!" She begins to argue but was silenced by her new superior.

"That is all, miss Yomikawa."

"Yes sir." She distastefully says to him before turning back to the two girls and forensic scientists. "Let's go, you four."

"But ma'am-!" Kuroko tries to reason with her but there was no point for them.

"You heard what he said! It's out of our reach now."

**(Time Skip)**

"I can't believe this! That was supposed to be our investigation and miss Yomikawa's new boss just had to go and take over the investigation!" Kuroko rants as she is upset that something like this has happened.

Uiharu sighs in agreement. "I know, Shirai. Miss Yomikawa has to follow orders from Mr. Birch who not only is her new superior at Anti-Skill, but also a member of the higher ups. She can't just go against their higher authority, remember?"

"I suppose." Her partner groans. "But I just can't help but feel that there's something fishy going on here. Wait a minute! I forgot that I have this!"

Uiharu's eyes widen as Kuroko pulls out an evidence bag holding the same throwing knife that pierced through the Anti-Skill officer's hand just before he was killed.

"S-Shirai! Why do you still have that?!"

"Think about it. Something's up with those guys and they don't want us involved in this case."

"What are you suggesting?" She asks, wondering what her partner is up to.

"An investigation of our own, Uiharu. Completely off-record from both Judgement and Anti-Skill." Kuroko shares her idea with her.

"If that's the case, then why not get help from our friends?"

"Uiharu, as much as I want to involve Sissy and Saten, it's best if we don't at all. And even if it was just Sissy, she would just shoot first and ask questions later. Not to mention how reckless she can be sometimes. So are you in?"

Sighing in defeat and understanding the reasons Kuroko pointed out for her, she agrees.

"Yeah. I'm in."

**To be Continued…**


	4. Sequence 2: Chapter 3

**Sequence 2****: Chapter 3**

**School District 7**

**11 April, 2023**

**10:06 P.M.**

Dusk had already come and tonight would be the night that one of Jason's targets on a list of high-ranking Templar records dies by his hand. As the young Master Assassin (already with his hood on) overlooks where the target will be, he then gets in a crouching position and closes his eyes for a moment before opening them with his sixth sense.

Looking down towards the opposite side of the street, he sees a large fifty-story apartment with the front entrance heavily guarded with two Templar agents in body armor as they hold assault rifles in their hands. Jason also sees that the emergency exit is guarded by only one Templar agent and could possibly hold the access key to get in through that doorway. Lastly, he looks up at the penthouse floor where the target is looking out towards the city's skyline before heading back inside, ordering his guards outside of his penthouse to keep an eye out for anything suspicious and raise the alarm if there's an intruder lurking about before threatening them that he'll have their heads if they don't do their jobs right.

The target's name is Tajo Matsumoto, a high-ranking Templar in charge of keeping records on certain members of their Order, including members of the Inner Sanctum and the Grandmaster. Although not much of a fighter like his fellow colleagues, he was more of a recordkeeper and usually reviews and send reports on each members' strengths, weaknesses, and loyalties to the Grandmaster only as its members are expendable to him and the Inner Sanctum.

"_Even though the intel he gathered on his own as best he could before he died, the list is incomplete. And if Matsumoto has a full ledger of Templar records with him, then I need to get it off of his hands. However, he's a loose end and needs to die if I want to avoid making the same mistake from last night." He recalls while looking for a way inside._

Jason jumps off the rooftop he was residing on and use the rope launcher's zipline to cross over to the other side. He then let go as he performs an air assassination on the Templar that guards the emergency exit, killing him. Looting the already dead guard's pockets, he has found the access card and then hides the body in a dumpster where no one would look for it for now. Using the card, Jason opens the door and enters inside the building. Seeing that walking the steps would take too long, he uses his rope launcher to grapple upwards to the penthouse floor's emergency exit as this saves more time for him to reach his target more quickly.

Now inside the hallways of the fiftieth floor, the Assassin quietly navigates his way around them until he has found a narrow corridor with a double doorway that leads to inside of the penthouse, which is guarded by two more Templars. With an idea in his head he uses a firecracker pellet as the noise got their attention.

"What the hell was that?" One of them asks.

"Don't know. Let's check it out." He shrugs before the two agents leave their posts and head for the source of the sound that's been made around the corner down the left side of the hallway.

When they turned a corner, they found nothing there. This troubles the Templars, however, as they aren't sure if their minds are playing tricks or that there's an intruder in the apartment complex.

"I think our minds playing tricks on us again."

"Or that there's an intruder in the building."

Before they could do anything else, a shadow over them that looks like an eagle drops above from the ceiling – revealing to be Jason – and double air assassinates the two in the process (a variation of the technique from AC Unity).

After quickly hiding the bodies, he then makes his way to the front entrance and quietly enters the penthouse in a crouching position. As he takes a look around the rather fancy place with it's antiques and such, he activates Eagle Vision again and locates Matsumoto in his office where he is busy talking on the phone to someone while the high-ranking Templar is sitting in his chair, observing the skyline through a window. Jason then sneaks his way inside the office and takes cover behind the wooden computer desk as he listens in on who the Templar recordkeeper is talking to.

"_**I appreciate the security you have provided me for, but I still think it's unnecessary, Mrs. England." He reasons with one of his superiors to no avail.**_

"_**Mr. Matsumoto, we provided them to you because it IS necessary." The woman on the other secured line – Laetitia England – says on the other end. "After what happened with last night's events regarding the hacker that we silenced and unconfirmed sightings of an Assassin running around killing other agents on the field, we're not taking any chances. Therefore, I want you to deliver the records to me in person and have the security we sent escort you to a private location tomorrow morning."**_

"_**Anything else, ma'am?"**_

"_**No, that will be all. Have a goodnight, Mr. Matsumoto." She says before ending the call, leaving him frustrated. **_

"Damn that woman. She is going to be the death of me if she keeps this up." He mutters to himself before getting up from his chair and walks out of his office as he heads to bed.

When the door closed, Jason gets out of cover and sits down as he hacks the Templar's desktop. After a few firewalls, he is already in and scrolls through the different files displayed on the screen. Thankfully, the full records of each member (including the Inner Sanctum and Grandmaster) were there and he immediately downloads them onto a flash drive.

"_There. That takes care of it." He says to himself before he notices another file that suspiciously labels 'Priority One' and click on it as it is brought up onscreen. _

The file turns out to be an email as it reads:

'_**March 31, 2023**_

_**M, **_

_**The Animus project will continue as planned but requires another test subject within Academy City. The Japanese Assassin during the Cold War will lead us to the artifact somewhere beneath the city and we have yet to uncover his identity. Go through the files and find a positive DNA match to this specific ancestor. I'll being waiting for you to send in the report by next Friday on the twelfth of April.**_

_**May the Father of Understanding Guide You,**_

_**V'**_

Jason then sees an attachment file on the email and accesses it to find something very shocking and proving his suspicions correctly as an image of a familiar girl he met earlier.

"_My God… This bastard has a record on Ruiko from the 'Bank'. And it seems this is meant to be sent to that damn scientist Vidic tomorrow since he is only one with the research to create the Animus project in this timeline." The Assassin deduces in disgust and shock. "And this even has a DNA confirmation that she's descended from Hideo Saten! I knew it! If Vidic has this… I can't imagine what horrific experiments he'll do on her."_

Not wanting this file to fall into Vidic and the Templar's hands, Jason immediately transfers the file to his flash drive and removes it from the desktop, hiding it away in his pocket. He then proceeds to wipe the desktop's memory so that the Templars don't trace it back to him.

"_Now then… It's time that I kill that stalking son of a bitch." He declares as the Assassin walks out of the office and sneaks his way toward Matsumoto's bedroom._

Since the room's light is turned off, he quietly opens the door and enters the room to see that his target is already asleep, giving him the opportunity to kill him right now. He flicks his left hidden blade out and slit the man's throat just as Matsumoto opened his eyes at his throat being slit open, drowning in his own blood on his bed.

"May your actions be judged by God himself, and forever suffer for what you have done." He gives the dead target his final rites in Italian. "Requiescat in Pace."

Closing the dead man's eye lids and pull the blanket over his face, Jason then exits the room and makes a run for the emergency exit outside the penthouse. However, he sees that there are Templars down the stairway and looks for another way out. Seeing that the balcony is the only option for an escape, Jason heads back in the penthouse area and runs to its balcony. He then uses the rope launcher's zipline and escapes into the night with the information he has with him.

**Later at the Sanctuary…**

After looking through the records of each member of the Templar's Inner Sanctum, Jason adds the names and images of both familiar and non-familiar members he has heard of onto the evidence board:

'Warren Vidic, creator of the Animus Project and a high-ranking Templar. Like his deceased Abstergo counterpart, he specializes in genetic memory research and uses test subjects to experiment and perfect the Animus itself. If he is eliminated and his entire project is destroyed, this will set the Templars back and slow down their search for the artifact.

Laetitia England, a member of Academy City's board and Head of the Templar Operations Division. Another familiar face back home since she's been the Brotherhood's target for years. Cares less about innocent casualties in order for her to get what she wants for their cause.

Here's a face I don't recognize; Reginald Birch II. Odd. In my reality, Reginald Birch from the 18th century never had descendants. There's little information about him except that he's another member of the board as well as a Master Templar, and Anti-Skill's recently new boss after last night's events. Should be careful around him.

Next Inner Sanctum member is Álvaro Gramática, another familiar face. Director of Academy City's Research and Future Technology division and one of the leading scientists for the top secret Project Radio Noise. Specializes in cloning humans and researching on Isu technology. Wait. It looks like he's in the Japanese mainland outside the city. And it seems he's been tasked to take an archeology team to look for the key fragments as a backup plan if the Animus project fails. But these reports state that they still haven't found one of them yet. Luckily, Hideo left behind clues for those gifted with Eagle Vision so it shouldn't be a problem for now.

And coming in at number five is one Daniel Cross, Master Templar and Vidic's personal right-hand man/assassin. It seems that most of his history is the same back in my reality with the exception Abstergo's existence and the Great Purge in the year 2000. Unfortunately, his file has no trace of records. Man's a ghost, no doubt.'

Jason attempts to find the files of the remaining four Inner Sanctum Members (one of them is the Grandmaster of the Academy City Rite) but came up with 'redacted' on them as their identities remain unknown to the Master Assassin, frustrating him with disappointment on his face. However, that's not the issue because the Templars are looking for a direct descendant of Hideo which turns out to be Ruiko Saten, the girl he met earlier.

"She still could be in danger if she was used as a Guinea pig for Vidic's Animus project. I'll need to keep an eye on her until I've eliminated my targets. At least the Templars will never discover her lineage since Matsumoto failed to send her profile to Vidic."

**Unknown Location**

_Ruiko's eyes open as sunlight shines down upon her face. She uses her hand to block some of the light so that she can get a better look at her surroundings. She sees stone walls and buildings, and people wearing clothes that look ancient and medieval. What bothers her was how hot the environment is, and she notices a few palm trees too._

"_It's so hot here." Ruiko laments about the temperature she's feeling. "Guess I'm in a city in the middle of the desert. But these buildings look so old like in the history books."_

_She notice the citizens talking in a foreign language she couldn't even understand, considering that the Level 0 herself only speaks English and her native Japanese language._

_Suddenly, the sunlight momentarily blinds her, and she opens her eyes to see that the scenery changed into a town square where a few people are hanged, which caused Ruiko to cover her mouth in horror. The ones responsible wore knight armor and chainmail (with two crusader knights wearing full plated helmets while the other wore a cape around him and a simple cone shaped one on his head). The most noticeable insignia on their chests is a red cross._

"_Those must be knights! But who are they?" She wonders with curiosity._

_Just then, she hears the sound of a church bell (and continues to 'gong') and turns around to see someone in the crowd who are present at the execution. He wore plain white robes that features a hood shaped like an eagle's beak in the center. The lower body of his robes are layered with a red sash around his waist including a huge belt holding pouches and a sword sheathed on his left side. Scabbards for throwing knives were contained at the right shoulder, at the front of the waist, and on the left boot. On his back contained an empty sheath meant for a short bladed dagger, buckled below the shoulder itself. In Ruiko's opinion, he looks a bit sinister due to the hood hiding the upper part of his face. But what weirds her out is that he is missing a ring finger on his left hand._

_Seeing that he is approaching the knights slowly by pushing past the crowd without drawing attention to himself, Ruiko realizes that he's going to kill them, and she tries to warn the people. However, they could not hear her, and she resolves into getting their attention, only to pass through them. In other words, the people around her could neither see nor hear her._

"_I-It's like that I'm never even here. Why can't they hear me?" She begins to panic as her heart is beating faster._

_Luckily, the knights notice the hooded man in the crowd and tell his two men to stop him. The two sentry knights drew their swords out as the man starts running and pushing past the crowd faster and throws a throwing knife towards one by the shoulder, seemingly killing him. The other attempts to surprise him while he wasn't focusing, but the man evades the knight's weapon coming down on him and knock him out before jumping midair on the gallows and a single blade comes out of his left armor plated leather bracer preparing to strike the last knight down who pulls his sword out to stop him. Unfortunately, the man successfully stabs his target through the neck, crashing down on the wooden floor of the gallows. He then pulls the blade out of the dead knight's neck and retracts the blade back into its spring-loaded mechanism sheath on the underside of his bracer before closing the knight's lifeless eyes with his other hand._

_He then turns to his right to see more knights coming and jumps out of the way in time from a heavy attack and to run away into the streets with the crusaders chasing after him (while Ruiko follows them, wanting to see what happens next). As he runs, the man sees one of the knights blocking his way and the former improvises by parkouring on buildings and is running on the rooftops. He then jumps off and lands on top of another knight, knocking him out as well. He then runs to the closed doors of a church that seems to be really close to the gallows and the knights have cornered him. But the hooded man has been expecting this as the last bell has been rung. Suddenly, the church doors open and came out a large group of Lionheart Christian monks as they pass by him. He smirks at the men who believed that they have cornered him only to when another monk passes by him, he has already disappeared without a trace. The knights then enter the crowd of monks to find the killer but fail notice him casually walking by and away from them._

_Witnessing at what she had just saw, Ruiko has so many questions in her mind. But as she turns around in the other direction, the same man is now in front of her, making her heart stopped as she gazes at him with fear in her eyes._

**Saten Residence**

**School District 7**

**12 April, 2023**

**6:30 A.M.**

Ruiko's eyes open and she gasps as she awakes from her sleep. Looking around, she realizes that she's back in her apartment.

"It was all just a dream." The girl sighs in relief. "I thought I was dead."

She check's her alarm clock on her bedside and sees that it's 6:30 in the morning, meaning that she has to get ready for school. But her mind is more focused on the weird dream she was having.

"Just what the hell was that about? Who were those men in knight armor? And who exactly was that guy in the hood? Whoever he is, he looks mysterious and menacing." She questions aloud as she gets out of bed and heads for the bathroom to shower.

"Oh, well." She shrugs. "At least it was only a dream. A weird one at that."

**To be Continued…**


	5. Sequence 2: Chapter 4

**A/N: I will remind you again that you get to vote which Toaru character is descended from these three protagonists by leaving a review for any current chapters.**

**Ezio**

**Shay**

**Arno**

**That is all.**

**Sequence 2****: Chapter 4**

**Saten Residence**

**School District 7**

**12 April, 2023**

**6: 45 A.M. **_**(continues where the last chapter has left off)**_

Water runs down on Ruiko's attractive naked body as she washes herself from top to bottom. Her mind has been focused more about the new Sakugawa student she befriended yesterday.

"I wonder what sort of things he likes." She wonders herself, curiosity about the boy is on her mind.

After getting out of the shower and drying herself, she then brushes her long black hair and put on her single flower hairpin on the left side of her head. She then puts on her school sailor uniform and grabs her things for school before grabbing some breakfast on her way out of her apartment.

"Maybe he's into urban legends or rumors." The girl speculates as she walks down the city streets. "Or maybe he likes the kind of clothes a girl like me wears."

She then takes the city buses to her destination as she continues to think about who he is. On the other hand, however, Ruiko's dream from last night started bothering her for some reason. It could have been a random dream or a vision of the past due to the time period she saw within the dream. Shrugging once more, she decides to forget about it and move on.

**Sakugawa Middle School**

**8:00 A.M.**

Uiharu walks down the school hallways when she is caught off guard from behind.

"Uuuuiii-harrrruuuuu!" Ruiko shouts her close friend's name as the Level 0 flips her skirt in public as the other students around them feel a bit awkward and embarrassed.

She sports a cat-like mischievous grin as she looks underneath Uiharu's skirt. "Oho! I see your wearing blue stripes today!"

The Level 1 feels a bit of a breeze underneath her skirt before blushing and screaming. "Waaahhhh! S-Saten! Why do you keep doing this to me?!"

Ruiko chuckles with only a little bit of shame in herself as she gestures with her hands. "Sorry, sorry. Just making sure if you're wearing your panties."

Suddenly, Ruiko feels a breeze underneath her own skirt and wasn't expecting a familiar voice.

"Hmm. It seems you're wearing lace panties, Ruiko. Isn't that right?" The voice revealing to be Jason comments with a smirk on his face as he dropped her skirt back down.

The girl slowly processes this and realizes on what he just did before blushing deep red and screaming in humiliation. "J-Jason!"

"Sorry, but you were making Uiharu uncomfortable and I had to step in. Plus, there are people present here so try not to embarrass yourself in front of everyone. You won't make friends if you keep continuing this kind of behavior."

Uiharu sighs in relief and pouts at Ruiko. "Serves you right, Saten. It's about time you got a taste of your own medicine for once."

"I'm not gonna stop flipping your skirt up if that's what you're asking me." She says, much to Uiharu's surprise. "But on another note, WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry! And I wasn't planning to humiliate you in front of everyone. But there's a reason why I did that: It's called being stupid."

"Calling a girl stupid, huh?" Ruiko asks before slyly grinning as she felt slightly offended to what he said to her. "If that's how you want to play it, fine. I'll get back at you for flipping my skirt."

Jason simply chuckles with his own cockiness. "Go ahead and try. If you can, that is."

Uiharu look at her two friends as they are staring at each other, daring on who will make the first move.

"Hey look! Class is starting soon! Wouldn't want to be late, now would we?" She interrupts their banter before it got out of hand.

The two teens look at each other for a moment before nodding. However, they will continue this discussion later because the three of them have a class to go to.

**(Time Skip)**

**3:20 P.M.**

School was already over for today, and there's always homework almost every day. However, Jason usually gets it done early somehow due to his life as an Assassin (Although he basically knows the stuff he's learned back in his reality prior to first contact with the Assassins, he has to always make sure he doesn't get perfect scores for each class to avoid suspicion and keep the Templars from discovering his identity). Opening his locker to switch back into his Assassin (Gunslinger) coat, he finds an envelope inside. Curious, he opens it and reads the note:

'_**Jason,**_

_**Uiharu and I left to meet up with Misaka and Shirai at Tokiwadai Middle School's front gate. Meet me at Joseph's not far from here, so that Uiharu and I can properly introduce you to our friends.**_

_**Your new friend,**_

_**Ruiko'**_

"Well, this is unexpected." He says to himself aloud. "I probably should get going now and meet up with her and Uiharu."

After changing back into his Assassin gear (with hood down), Jason takes a bus meet up with them.

**Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant**

**3:35 P.M.**

Four girls sit in their usual booth inside the restaurant as Ruiko and Uiharu explain it to their friends.

"Huh? You guys have a new transfer student?" Mikoto Misaka – the 3rd Ranked Level 5 known as the Railgun - asks curiously as Kuroko shares the same expression as her roommate/best friend. "And you're telling us that he's from overseas?"

"Yeah! He's just settled in the city about a few days ago from what he told us." Ruiko explains to the two Tokiwadai students. "Plus, he's a nice guy! Though he tends to be more focus on work than having some fun, which is why I want to introduce you to him today."

"People are sometimes like that, Saten." Kuroko deadpans about the new student. "I'm sure he has his reasons for wanting it. Then again, you do make a good point."

"So when can we meet him?" The Railgun asks. "I hope that he has an ability."

"Sissy, Sissy." The Teleporter sighs in annoyance as she facepalms at her senior's antics. "Always want to meet new people so that you could challenge them in a fight."

Misaka stutters as she denies her claims. "N-No! That's not what I was thinking about, Kuroko!"

"Come on, Sissy. I know you. You can't fool me. Plus, you suck at lying."

"Hate to disappoint you, Misaka, but he's a Level 0 like Saten is." Uiharu interrupts the two Tokiwadai students. "She left a note inside his locker to meet up with us for a proper introduction."

Just then, Ruiko then looks on her left to see Jason on the other side of the window where the girls are sitting next to, and she then waves at him with joy.

"Hey, over here!"

Jason notices her and Uiharu sitting with their friends and are waiting for him to come inside to meet them.

**(Time Skip)**

"Now then, I think a proper introduction should suffice." Jason says toward Misaka and Kuroko as he sits between both sides of the table outside of the booth in a chair. "Jason Kenway. It's nice to meet you both."

"Same to you, Kenway." Misaka nods.

"Just call me Jason. Mixing your customs with my western name feels weird to me and I'm not entirely use to it if you don't mind."

"Not at all." Kuroko says. "We don't really mind anyway since Sissy calls me by my first name."

"Right." He understands before turning toward Ruiko. "So why did you really bring me here besides introducing me to Misaka and Shirai?"

This got the other three girls' attention as they wonder what he's talking about as Level 0 puts her right index finger on her lips before smirking with a 'Cheshire Cat' face.

"Hmm. I think you owe me after what happened earlier at school."

"Oh? And what punishment are you attempting on me then?"

Misaka and Shirai are confused. "What are you two even talking about?"

"Jason flipped Saten's skirt up as way of stopping her from flipping my own." The Level 1 simply answers their question.

The Tokiwadai girls spit their drinks out in shock at what they just heard. "E-Eh?!"

"Don't get the wrong idea! He thought I was in trouble when she tends to flip my skirt in public, so he was trying to teach her not to embarrass herself.""

"Huh. I'm impressed. A disciplined and kind gentleman standing up against something so shameless. Most apes don't do that sort of thing since they could be sometimes perverted." Kuroko comments.

"I'd take that as a compliment, Shirai. Though I did briefly see that Ruiko is wearing lace panties, which is kind of weird since high schoolers and young women wear that sort of thing."

"Calling by Saten's first name? And she's wearing matured panties?" Misaka questions the boy.

Kuroko uses her ability as she now holds Ruiko's panties. "I-It can't be! To think that she would be so matured enough to wear this kind of thing!"

"K-Kuroko!" Misaka angrily yells at her roommate for abusing her ability like that. "You shouldn't be talking since you wear that sort of stuff just so you can be perverted on me!"

Ruiko blushes again when she felt that her panties are gone and sees Kuroko holding them. "H-Hey! Give them back!"

"I wonder, Saten. Are you wearing them so you could start impressing him?" She accuses the Level 0.

"W-What?! N-No! Why are suggesting that?! We just met yesterday! It's not even like that at all!"

"But your face is red! And you're even denying it!" States Uiharu.

Jason coughs, getting their attention as he glares at them with slight annoyance. "I have no idea what you guys are talking about, but you're making a scene in front of everyone. And Shirai, I appreciate if you give Ruiko her panties back. We ARE in public after all."

The four girls look around to see that other people in the restaurant are giving them weird looks and they nervously laugh, much to their embarrassment.

**(Time Skip)**

The five teens are now outside of the restaurant as Misaka is pulling her roommate's cheeks.

"I can't believe you got the five of us kicked out like that when you stole Saten's underwear! Not to mention embarrassing the both of us in front of her and Uiharu's new friend! This isn't gonna go away ya know!"

The Railgun then stops pulling on Kuroko's cheeks and looks away with her arms crossed.

"I said I was sorry, Sissy!" She tries to reason with her as she is rubbing her sore cheeks. "You can be so mean sometimes!"

Before Misaka could argue back, Jason steps in. "Enough!"

The two stopped arguing and paid attention to what he has to say.

"I understand that you two don't want to make yourselves fools in front of me but arguing about it isn't gonna help at all. So stop bickering on something that's petty and stupid, okay?"

The two slowly nod, understanding what he means.

"Wow, Jason. You actually stopped Misaka and Shirai's argument without incident. I was sure it was going to last for hours." Ruiko compliments her friend. "Where'd you learn to be so diplomatic?"

"That would be telling." He cryptically answers with a smirk before changing the subject. "Other than that, what sorta punishment do you have planned?"

The girl could only stutter and sweat nervously, feeling flustered by his words. "U-Um. Well, I-."

"So you don't have one." He deduces. "If you are trying to come up with a penalty game against me, plan your strategy before telling me what it is."

"R-Right." She complies as her cheeks become pink.

"So what do you think of Academy City so far?" Misaka interrupts them with another topic. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"I'll admit, it's impressive. The technology here really is 30 years ahead from the rest of the world with the U.S. not too far behind but still nowhere near Academy City's level."

"Indeed." Kuroko agrees with him. "Most of the city's population are students that dedicate themselves into working hard to get an ability, which isn't an easy thing to accomplish."

"And what about the people having rights? From what I read here, the students – not even the adults – don't have the right to vote and have no saying in the policies that are implemented."

"Yeah. Only the city's board has absolute power, so no suffrage since most of the population are us minors and adults don't have any of those rights either."

"Sounds like a utopia run through order and tyranny than order and democracy."

This comment got their attention.

"What makes you say that?" Uiharu curiously asks.

"Think about it." He begins explaining his belief as he and the girls start walking. "The city is run by autocrats, believing that forbidding human rights to the people would accomplish their dream of peace. But this small victory comes at a price, and too much order leads to tyranny. And if there is too much freedom for the people, then that becomes anarchy."

"You're starting to sound philosophical and political." Kuroko suspiciously eyes him. "But I get where you're getting from. We all do since there's the Dark Side of Academy City, for example."

"But a city-state ruled by autocratic men and women isn't the right way to achieve peace. Hell, it's an impossible thing. The culture, the beliefs. That's what makes us human, and we are given the right to choose our own path." He argues, believing that peace can never be achieved as the Assassins believe that the people should be in control to choose what life they want and not the Templars pulling their strings from the shadows.

He makes an interesting and honest argument as the girls deep down know that he's right. Though, he is wrong about one other thing about the higher ups.

"You know… There is one member of the board who is different from the others." Uiharu mentions.

"You're certain?" Jason asks, wanting to know if it's true or not.

"It's true! She cares about the well-being of the students in the entire city. And get this: she supports the idea of human rights for the people." The Level 1 confirms.

"Oh yeah, I think I heard of her before." Kuroko recalls. "What was her name again? Monaka Oyafune?"

"She's really that big of a deal?" Ruiko wonders. "I wonder how the board is able to tolerate her."

"What Shirai's saying is that Mrs. Oyafune has the charisma and sympathy to help students and adults. Am I correct on that one?" Jason gives her an easy explanation before looking at Kuroko if he's right.

"Bingo. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a lot of political power, so she doesn't have the full support of the higher ups and the General Superintendent."

Jason sighs disappointedly. "Well, so much for that."

Luckily the girls didn't notice this as they are unaware of who he truly is.

**5:35 P.M.**

The rest of day was normal for them as most of their time was spent when Misaka suggested the arcade, to which Jason didn't mind at all and he challenged her in a shooting game. He scored the highest and she ended up losing, much to her disbelief. Their enjoyment was cut short when Kuroko reminds Uiharu that they should go the office to finish some of the paperwork they're working on, thus they said farewell to their friends and left. Unbeknownst to the others, however, the Judgement officers used this opportunity to conduct their own investigation off-duty as they are suspicious of Anti-Skill's new boss. Meanwhile, Misaka has already left for her dorms to turn in for the night, leaving Ruiko and Jason alone once more.

"Thanks for inviting me to meet your friends, Ruiko." He says to his friend. "They seem to be… an interesting duo."

"Yeah. Those two have been best friends when Kuroko became Misaka's roommate last year."

"How so?"

"To put this way, Shirai has a habit of wanting to be more than friends with her. However, Misaka keeps turning her down since she's not interested in a relationship of the same gender."

"Ah." He nods, understanding what she means. "I know what you mean by that."

Ruiko's cheeks become pink again and starts to get nervous. "H-Hey. Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" He asks, not noticing the blush on her face

"Are you okay if we hang out more often? I wanna get to know you better and you owe me for flipping my skirt up."

"Sure. I don't mind after all. And I'm really sorry about what happened this morning."

"It's okay. J-Just don't do it again."

He chuckles at how cute her expression is. "If you say so. You have my word."

**To be Continued…**

**A/N: Follow, review, and favorite. Feel free to request what you want in the story.**


	6. Sequence 2: Chapter 5

**A/N: This will be a short chapter since not a lot is going on as Jason will begin his search for the artifact.**

**Sequence 2****: Chapter 5**

It's been a few weeks since Jason assassinated Matsumoto and learned the identities of five known Inner Sanctum members. Making connections is proving to be difficult than he thought as one of Academy City's board members doesn't have a lot of political power and support to stand up against the Templars' influence. Still, he hasen't given up his search for potential allies just yet and will continue looking for anyone sympathetic to the Assassin cause.

Meanwhile, he decides to begin his search for the missing pieces of the key to gain access to the Isu temple, which its whereabouts is yet to be found…

**Board of Directors Library**

**School District 1**

**27 April, 2023**

**9:13 A.M.**

"_According to what little information the journal has, there should be a hidden door somewhere in this library." He recalls in his head as he searches for any signs of the fragment's whereabouts._

Now entering an abandoned section of the library, Jason activates Eagle Vision and found a hidden switch resembling the Assassin insignia with a skull within the center in one of the room's corner. Pulling it, the mechanism splits the skull in three parts and flips upside down before realigning into one once more. Then, part of the wall opens up revealing a dark, secret passageway. Deactivating his sixth sense, the Master Assassin pulls up his hood over his head and enters the tunnel before the door closes behind him.

**(Time Skip)**

**Assassin Tomb (Beneath School District 9)**

**9:25 A.M.**

Jason exits the corridor and finds himself in a cave system that's not on any historical records. He quickly deduces that the Japanese Brotherhood must've built this place for a reason, but what and why, he does not know. He then looks at the ring-shaped necklace (with Isu symbols on it) around his neck, recalling when his father gave it to him at a young age as the Assassin then makes his way to other side of the catacombs.

**(Flashback)**

'_What's so special about this old thing? It's just a silver ring.' A younger Jason Kenway asks in confusion._

'_This heirloom has been passed down in our family during the American Revolution. Our ancestor found it on Oak Island during one of his adventures and believes that it once belonged to a legendary pirate that supposedly made him 'immune' to his enemies attacks.' His father explains as he gives him the ring, unknown to the boy at the time that it is a Ring of Eden. 'Though this is proven to be true, the ring itself doesn't grant complete immunity to its wearer and can only deflect some projectiles as well as energy-based weapon discharges.'_

'_I guess this magic ring is a life saver and a good luck charm.' The boy jokes._

_His father chuckles at his son's sense of humor. 'You really are special, Jason. Which is why I'm giving it to you, so that one day it will protect you from whatever form evil takes.'_

'_You mean-?'_

'_Of course, son. Consider it as your birthday present'_

_Jason's mouth opens in shock before hugging him tightly with happiness on his face._

'_It's perfect! Thank you, Dad!'_

'_You're welcome. And as long as you wear it, never forget that good fortune and honor is the Kenway life. Remember that, Jason. Remember that.' _

**(End of Flashback)**

That was the last time his father gave him a gift before his death. And this Piece of Eden is the last reminder of his Assassin heritage. An hour after making his way in more dangerous obstacles, he has arrived at a dead end.

"Damn. A complete dead end." He curses as he looks around. "The Assassins must've hidden its chamber as a precaution if the Templars discovered these caverns."

Jason once again uses Eagle Vision and sees five different walls highlighted gold, meaning that one of them leads to where the fragment is hidden. He then scans one of them only to learn that it's a normal wall. He does the same with the next three, but the result is the same. Scanning the last one, his ability confirms that it is the hidden entrance to what the Assassin is looking for. Pressing a wall panel, the door collapses flat on the floor and Jason enters the chamber and sees only a stone casket with the Assassin insignia on top.

Pushing part of the lid off, he sees the remains of a deceased man clothed in a tattered Assassin coat from the WWII-era and in his skeletal hands is not a fragment but a glowing disc of sorts, including a rolled-up sheet. Jason takes both items out of the coffin and inspects them briefly before putting them in his coat.

**(Time Skip)**

**School District 10**

**Assassin Sanctuary**

**12:30 P.M.**

"_The design and markings of this key are familiar… this is no fragment of a simple key. It's a Memory Seal." He deduced as he studies it in his hand. "Just like the ones Altaïr found beneath the old Alamut fortress in Persia and used five of the six seals as keys for his library beneath Masyaf."_

Jason turns his attention to the map he recovered in the Assassin Tomb. _"This must be a map for the locations of the remaining four keys."_

The remaining locations as shown includes Kamakura, Nagasaki, Osaka, and Okinawa.

"_Looks like I have the locations, but the Templars are already looking them. If they recover one of the keys, then I will need to recover the others before they fall into their hands."_

The Assassin then looks at the artifact again as it starts glowing and everything goes white.

**(Flashback)**

**Osaka, Japan**

**76 Years ago…**

'_1947\. The dawn of a new era for Japan. An empire has been reborn with support from those that were once our enemies in the Pacific War.'_

_A man in his late fifties walks in a hidden chamber as he grabs his dark grey Assassin coat and puts it on. He then grabs his prized katana-bladed cane sword and mounts it on his back before throwing on his black leather gloves. Finally, he puts on the black-leathered Assassin gauntlet that once belonged to the late Jacob Frye, which was given to him by his counterparts in England._

'_But in the shadows far from the history and the knowledge, lies another truth.'_

_He then flicks his left and right wrists as two hidden blades pop out before concealing them by flicking his wrists again. He then exits the small room and peeks through his office door._

'_Corruption. Betrayal. Murder. Secrets. Secrets so dangerous that I must hide them, even from my own family.'_

The Assassin sees his family having a good time at dinner, despite everything that has happened in the last few years when the second World War ended by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from the U.S. His family consists only his 33-year old son (as the elderly man's wife passed away from giving birth), who is sitting next to his wife. He simply smiles as he's happy and proud that his son gets to find happiness with the woman he's married to. Closing the door, he enters back inside the secret room and close the bookcase from behind before taking a tunnel into the city sewers with a lantern in his right hand.

'_Family. Justice. Honor. Love. These are the values guiding my blade. This truth is written in blood, and the shadows are where I strike.'_

The Assassin is later seen walking on the rooftops as he overlooks the city of Osaka.

'_I am Hideo Saten. And like my ancestors before me, I am an Assassin.'_

**(End of Flashback)**

**Present Day…**

The recorded memory unfortunately ends as Jason is now back in the real world. This was something he hasn't expected to see.

"So the keys contain recorded memories of Hideo. Will they lead me to where the artifact is hidden? That remains to be seen. But no doubt that I will find it and keep it from enemy hands."

**Memory Synced: Sequence 2 Completed**


	7. Sequence 3: Chapter 1

**Sequence 3****: Chapter 1**

**School District 7**

**20 July, 2023**

**5:33 P.M.**

Maika Tsuchimikado is walking down the streets of School District 7. Right now, she is gathering groceries at a nearby small shop for her foster brother (yes, this is technically true since he adopted her and isn't considered to be incest) Motoharu Tsuchimikado who is currently sick after catching a cold from his best friend and neighbor at the boys' dormitory at A Certain High School named Touma Kamijou. Stepping inside the shop, she then looks for the necessary ingredients for her own homemade soup to bring him back to health. The clothes she's wearing is that of a maid, mostly because she's training to become one as an 'imouto's promise' to her brother, and she even grew out her short midnight blue hair to be long just to change up her hairstyle a bit (along with a few bangs covering her forehead). She may look like a polite young girl (mainly due to the 15-year-old's training as a maid), Maika is gleefully unprofessional and casual, openly calling people by their family names without using the Japanese suffix of 'sama' or 'san' in the way a maid would. She's even lucky to not get kicked out of maid school for her behavior. Why it hasn't happened yet, no one knows. Though she is seen to be riding atop on a cleaning robot and somehow never gets dizzy from the bot's constant spinning.

After purchasing the items in front of the cashier, Maika makes her way out of the store when she notices Misaka by the manga stands since the Level 5 usually comes to this favorite shop of hers every week for any new manga that she seems interested to read. Unfortunately, the Railgun never had the will to buy them herself due to being shy around others about the things she likes.

"Hey, Misaka!" Maika greets the Ace of Tokiwadai.

Misaka turns around to see Maika with groceries in her hands.

"Oh hey Tsuchimikado." Misaka greets her friend. "How's your maid training holding up?"

"It's fine. Though I'm not so sure about you either." The maid-in-training slyly smirks.

"W-What do you mean?" The Railgun nervously asks.

"I just saw you with Kamijou the other day. It's about time you two got together!"

Misaka blushes in embarrassment. "I-It's not like that! Why would I be dating that Idiot anyway? Besides, he and are too busy to even spend time together."

Maika giggles at her reaction then notices the manga she's holding "By the way, what manga are you currently reading right now?"

Misaka breaks loose from her embarrassment from her question "Oh this? Just reading one of those clique stories of group heroes changing the world with freedom and stuff."

"Hmmm." Maika hummed with a small smile from her answer. "If only if that story was true." Maika thought to herself in thought the manga's plot.

Then she notices Misaka chuckling for some reason. "Misaka?"

"Oh sorry, it's just that talking about this just kinda reminds me about a new friend of mine with a similar idea." She looks back about the time when Saten introduced Jason to her a few months back in April.

"Really?" Maika being curious of who this friend could be. "Who's this new friend of yours?"

"His name is Jason Kenway, an American transfer student who just settled in Academy City."

Maika paused a bit from hearing that name. "Ken… way…?"

"Hm? Maika?" Misaka notices her sudden behavior.

"No… it can't be…" she begins to look down a bit with her eyes being other shadowed and starts to slowly tremble.

Misaka begins to notice this. "M-Maika… what's-" before she could finish her sentence, she was not expecting this to happen.

"YOU MADE ANOTHER GUY FRIEND!?" She exploded at with burst that made Misaka flinch, making her nearly drop the manga and other nearby customers to either jump a bit and stare at the two.

"E-eh?" was the only response Misaka could make while they're looking at her with bewildered expressions on their faces.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HERE I THOUGHT YOU SET YOUR EYES ON TOUMA KAMIJOU BUT A NEW PLAYER JASON KENWAY MAKES AN APPEARANCE AND HAS CAUGHT YOUR INTEREST?!" Maika continued to yell while she was spinning around sitting on her cleaning robot other the shocking revelation she has discovered.

That last sentence made Misaka snap out of her shock, made her drop that manga and making her face blush completely red for the huge misunderstanding. "N-NO! T-THAT'S NOT WHAT I-" but before she could finish, she was caught off guard ones again.

Maika stopped spinning then grabbed both of Misaka's hands wither her own giving an encouraging look at her. "Don't worry no matter who you choose, as long as everyone is happy, I will give my support all the way!" she ended her sentence with a bright cheerful smile.

Before Misaka could say anything Maika immediately speed off with her cleaning robot out of the shop with her grocery. "Bye-bye Misaka! I wish you good luck!" her voice echoes slowly as she yelled on her way out.

Misaka just stood there flabbergasted, her head having a few sparks here and there as if it was trying to process what just happened, then finally she snaps out of it and yells "YOUR WRONG! HE'S JUST A FRIEND THAT SATEN MADE!" she yells with the bottom from her heart without knowing that the manager was calling security for disturbing the peace in the shop.

Meanwhile, Maika on her way back kept thinking about what Misaka said about this 'Jason Kenway'. "This friend Misaka made…" she ponders with her thought as her cleaning robot guided her home.

_"Has an interest with freedom and has the family name Kenway…"_ Maika was at deep thought regarding those points. But then shakes her head. _"No, no it can't be, just a coincidence."_

Just then, she snaps out of her thoughts when she notices two people talking as they are walking together. One wore a lab coat and is an elderly Caucasian male talking to a man in his forties that seems to be wearing a variation of Anti-Skill Kevlar vest with a very familiar red cross on it instead of the voluntary authority's insignia. Becoming very suspicious, she kept her distance while hiding behind a tree while sitting atop on her cleaning robot.

"With all due respect Mr. Birch, the Animus project will continue as planned. However, finding the student descended from Hideo has been slow. And with the death of Matsumoto and the stolen files from a potential hacker not too long ago in April, the search for the artifact's exact location somewhere beneath this city is becoming more difficult thanks to him." The man known as Warren Vidic explains.

"It wasn't a hacker, Vidic." Birch corrects him. "An Assassin was behind this."

"What?! You're saying he's been here for months now and you didn't inform me that the Assassin was behind Matsumoto's murder?!"

"The situation's under control." He assures his inner circle colleague in annoyance. "Problem is, he's been eliminating some of our best eyes and ears throughout the city."

Vidic scoffs at this. "Under control my ass! If you think for a second, the Animus project is at risk of being shut down! And your best men couldn't even handle one man running around in a goddamn hood?! Perhaps if you gave me more time in finding the specific descendant, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Birch's expression darkens. "When has it become clear Doctor, the Grandmaster will tolerate no more setbacks. You have already made time an ally of the Assassin! I suggest that we solve this matter with you finding Hideo's descendant on your own. Failure will find you explaining why to a far less patient audience. After all, Dr. Gramática is already searching for the keys hidden all over Japan and his method of searching for the artifact is less exhausting than your research on genetic memories. You have until tomorrow. No later."

"Fine." The elderly man says.

"Good." The Anti-Skill commander smirks. "Then may the Father of Understanding guide you, Dr. Vidic."

"To you as well, Mr. Birch. I'll see you tomorrow with the results in my report then."

The two Templars go their separate ways as Maika discreetly watches them from behind a tree. She was a bit shaken about this news, not only learning about what the two Templars have discussed over. Not fully understanding their intentions but was more interested in the Assassin they mentioned that has appeared in Academy City a few months back.

She slowly starts putting a few pieces together but shakes it off, claiming to herself she is not a part of that 'life' anymore and just keeps telling herself that she's just a maid only dutiful helping people as she has always been doing. Just as she was about to activate her cleaning machine to head towards her step-brother's apartment, she suddenly stopped, like some instinct inside her wanted her to look at some direction, she whispered in the very back of her mind saying 'This feeling... I haven't felt this since...' and for some reason, she slowly turns her head up to one of the buildings, at first she saw an eagle flying by but what caught her attention more was a hooded figure crouching down looking down like he was hunting. Maika's heart started to beat faster after seeing the figure and began to breathe heavily before words could come out from her mouth. Then suddenly, the same eagle flew by, slightly blocking her view. And like a ghost, the hooded figure disappeared.

"_Can it be?"_ She wonders in shock, trying to process what she has just witnessed. _"Can it be that the Brotherhood is rising again?"_

**School District 7**

**Tsuchimikado Residence – A Certain High School Boys' Dormitory**

**6:00 P.M.**

Maika eventually returns to her step-brother's dorm where she spent of her time living there, mainly because the AC in her own dorm was broken last August. It's already been fixed, but she rarely lives there now since she wanted to be close to her step-brother. Well more specifically, her foster brother as you would put it.

Opening the door, she enters inside their home where Motoharu greets her with excitement.

"Maika! Welcome home!" He greets before sneezing again from that cold he caught from his best friend Touma 'Kami' Kamijou. "Damn it, Kami! Of all the things about your bad luck, you had to get me and Pierce sick just so you can sneak behind our backs and take all the girls from us men! Damn you and your Kami-disease!"

Maika could only sweat drop at what she's witnessing. Secretly, she knows about Touma's mysterious right hand and misfortune whenever Motoharu would spend time with his best friend. But having a so-called disease that could make girls fall for the misfortunate boy? That literally sounds stupid.

"Glad to see you too, Moto-chan." She greets back with her trademark maid smile before getting serious. "Just try not to get me sick, okay? Besides, I brought back some ingredients for more of the soup I'm making!"

"Um, wouldn't it better if I just eat something else?" He asks nervously. "I sure that I'm feeling better now."

That was a lie, obviously as he sneezes once more before collapsing on the floor where his futon is since he offered his bed to his adopted sister.

Maika giggles evilly.

"Oh, step-brother. You really think you can easily weasel your way out of this like you do to Kamijou?" She reminds him with a creepy smile as a dark aura surrounds her. "You forget that your tactics don't work on me."

Motoharu pales in horror as he remembers those few times that she would act so scary in his eyes.

"N-No, Maika!" He stutters. "Why else would I?!"

"Good." She giggles once more as her dark aura no longer present. "Then you will like what I cook, and you WILL eat it until you are back to full health."

Her step-brother nods slowly without a word, finding it pointless to argue with her.

**7:43 P.M.**

After cooking him soup to treat his illness, she serves it to him and makes sure that he doesn't try to not eat it. Unbeknownst to him, however, she put in a little bit of sleeping powder in his soup due to Motoharu ranting about Kamijou again. She claims that the cold he caught must've made him act so overdramatic about the things he keeps repeating over and over. When he finishes his dinner, he eventually compliments her cooking once more and thanks her before immediately being knocked out cold for the rest of the night.

Getting off of the cleaning robot she would always sit on, Maika picks up her sleeping step-brother and carries him over to his futon on the floor where she tucks him in and puts aside his shades on the table. She then makes her way to the bathroom where she gets out of her maid attire. Standing before the mirror, she admires her well-fit hourglass body and perfect chest size that is on par with Ruiko's. Her step-brother has not seen her out of her clothes at all, mostly due to the fact that her step-brother is a pervert of sorts. That's why she secretly loves him romantically for his personality, wanting to protect her with his life. However, she felt like she isn't ready to ask him out just yet as she isn't sure if she should have a relationship with him or not.

"_Someday, Maika."_ She shakes her head. _"Someday."_

She then puts on some normal sleepwear and begins to exit the bathroom when the maid-in-training notices a small chest in one of the sink drawers. Taking it out, Maika opens it to look at a worn down pocket watch that dates back to the 18th century in France on her father's side of her biological family. Her expression became sad as memories of her childhood begin to flood her head, recalling those times together with her REAL parents. Not Motoharu's colleagues that are pretending to be his parents/her step-parents.

'_I was an only child in the family. My parents taught me how to survive out in the harsh world we live in. Except the only thing is that no one came for us since we lived in the middle of nowhere. In this case, we were off-grid and would rarely go to heavily populated areas or any other civilized location. It didn't matter to me back then because I still loved my parents after all._

_My father – a former French merchant overseas – taught me how to survive in the wilderness and the importance of hunting, along with the skills to back me up. He once told me:_

_"Maika, remember to stay calm, always have slow quiet breathing as you track your target, mask your presence with your surroundings, may it be hiding in a bush, hiding behind a tree or blending with others, take advantage of the environment around you, may it hide you, protect you, or fight with or for you."_

_As for my mother – a former college graduate, she taught me the history and stories connected to my father's side of the family. Like father, mother tells me that I was born into the Brotherhood. She once told me about what's true and isn't. Basically, the Creed is supposed to make us wiser and not let it control our actions. However, I never forgot what she said that will remain part of me for the rest of my life:_

_"When you strike your pray, remember to never take pleasure when you take a life. Taking a life is never always easy but accepting what you did with no ill intentions and to move forward while not forgetting the deed shows that you are still human. Always show swift mercy as you take a life, may it be a bloodthirsty animal or any form of a creature with mindless killing. Never show hatred towards them, and in doing so would sometimes lead to choices that could poorly reflect yourself. And above all, always pay your respect with the life you take whoever they are. And Maika, remember that 'Nothing is True. Everything is Permitted'"._

_And that's what they said to me. Before they found our home. Everything happened so fast. Black vans came to our doorstep and surrounded the house while we're trapped inside. Luckily, my parents planned this and showed me how to escape through a secret passageway beneath our home. I didn't want to do it, but all they gave me was a backpack full of gear that would eventually fit me when I'm a little bit older as well as our family's old watch. The last thing they said to me was that they'll be right behind me and will come find me as soon as they can._

_But they never came as I made my escape. It was then that I realized that they had no intention of going with me. I had mixed feelings when I lost the only family I loved. I was so confused and angry they rather stay behind than go with me. Then, I broke down in tears in the wilderness for who knows how long. After that, I took what my parents gave me and travelled to wherever I was going._

_Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. And eventually, I ended up in Tokyo. I was so dirty, tired, and hungry. My few weeks stash of food my parents packed for me just before they died was used up. I resorted to hunting after that and thankfully it came in handy once again. But the food I was used to isn't the same and I grew bored of hunting._

_Soon as I was in Tokyo, I eventually collapsed and was out cold for a while. When I woke up, I learned that I was in an orphanage and the people who found me and owned the place asked me so many questions. The only answers I gave them were mostly half-truths and lies, which convinced them that I could stay since they weren't able to find any existing records about me._

_7 years later, I had reached the age of 13. I didn't make any friends and I isolated myself from everyone that wanted to befriend me. That is until I met my step-brother Motoharu. Well, he's technically my foster brother in reality. And it was then my new life would begin, where I learned about the Tsuchimikados (only that his parents aren't really his) and learned about the their 'secret' without them knowing that I knew about it. But out of all of it, I was really happy that I get to have a family again. Soon, my step-brother and I attended Academy City, becoming Level 0s, and we went to separate schools. He went to A Certain High School while I attended Ryouran Maid School. It was only because that I promised him (mostly his idea but I was okay with it)._

_Although I made some good friends like Misaka, Kamijou, and Index in the last two years, deep down I knew I wasn't truly happy after what happened to me when I was six years old. So I did the best I could in my current life and surprisingly, I saw Moto-chan as more than just foster sibling. I fell in love with him. But I wouldn't dare to tell him about my past. Those who don't know about the Assassin-Templar conflict, shouldn't be forced to get involved. After nearly dying last December, I wasn't sure about telling him about it or even my feelings toward him._

_That is until an Assassin came along. If that Kenway boy is one and if he's descended from one of the legendary bloodlines in our Brotherhood's history, then it has to true.'_

Maika snaps out of her thoughts and throws the watch back in the chest, angry tears in her eyes.

"What am I thinking?!" She thinks aloud. "That life for me is over! I've never taken a life before!"

She collapses on to her knees before quietly crying to herself.

"Mom… Dad…" She cries. "I miss them so much. What if my new life is destroyed if I help him? What then? Would I be forced to run once more, and I never see the man that I'm in love with again? I shouldn't have left my parents to die that day."

No matter what it will take for her to find happiness, her past would eventually come back to haunt her.

**To Be Continued…**


	8. Sequence 3: Chapter 2

**A/N: Credit goes to triscythe59 for these excellent ideas he/she provided me for.**

**Sequence 3****: Chapter 2**

_**Immediately after eavesdropping…**_

The young Master Assassin is making his way back to the sanctuary in preparation for the assassination of Warren Vidic and the permanent end of this timeline's Animus project. That way, the Templars' search for the Piece of Eden would be slowed down… For a while, at least. Still, that doesn't mean he can just wait it out till they give up since he has to find the remaining four keys before they do. And since Academy City is their front, the Templars would usually take on a less advanced guise so that people don't mistakenly accuse the city-state for trespassing on private property without approval from the Japanese government.

He then notices the sun setting over the horizon that's west from his direction.

"_I guess it wouldn't hurt to watch it set for a little bit." He thinks to himself._

He sits down on a bench as he watches from atop of one of the city's cliffsides in School District 7. The watching the sun setting is kinda relaxing to him back in America… just not in this reality.

"It's so beautiful…" He says aloud.

"It is." A familiar voice agrees.

"Huh?" He looks up on his right to see Ruiko sitting next to him. However, he freezes in place as he looks at what she's wearing.

Ruiko wears a white summer dress with silver leather strap sandals along with her iconic single flower hair pin. Her appearance and charm makes the boy flustered for some reason. He even notices how cute her feet and toes are along with silver glitter on her toenails.

"Is something wrong?" She asks the boy in confusion while tilting her head to the side.

He snaps out of it and hides the blush on his face. "Of course not. It's just… You look pretty in that dress of yours, Ruiko."

"Eh?" She confusingly says and looks down at herself before realizing what he said, and she blushes in embarrassment. "Oh this? I-I actually made it. Though to be honest, the skirt is above my legs and feels a bit breezy down here."

"You made that?" He asks with shock in his voice. "I didn't know you're a tailor of sorts."

"Oh stop." She waves off at him. "I was taking this one out for a spin since I can't always afford new clothes all the time due to my current level."

"Plus, you tend to be the number one attractive girl in Sakugawa." He mutters.

"Huh?" She raises her eyebrow as she understands what he's talking about but remains confused to why. "What are you talking about?"

"You're kidding?" The Assassin questions her with a strange look on his face. "No guys at Sakugawa would ask you out or try to hit on you?"

"Nope. There hasn't been any guy that's done any of that to me." Ruiko shakes her head before putting her index finger on her chin. "Though, I always wonder why..."

He looks at the girl with a deadpan expression as she's so oblivious about it.

"_Probably because you keep flipping Uiharu's skirt for whatever reason." He mutters to himself. Luckily, she didn't hear him._

Just then an eagle screech is heard and scares the living lights out of Ruiko.

"Waaaaahhhhh!" She screams before falling off of the bench, pulling Jason off as well.

Jason groans in pain as he's trying to figure out what happened. He then felt something soft and he looks up to see Ruiko barely making eye contact with him as a blush forms on her face. He then realizes that she's sitting on top of him and learns he's touching her left butt cheek as his gloved hand is groping it. He blushes in panic as he tries to let go but accidentally squeezes it instead.

The girl gasps loudly as her blue eyes widen in surprise when he groped her ass. She couldn't say anything to him due to being shy around him sometimes. The situation became worse when he then accidentally gropes her slightly large perfect breasts, making her more uncomfortable as she begins to feel the pleasure taking over her mind.

"_W-What's happening to me?" She wonders as she is trying to resist it temptation. "It's like that time when I was under the influence of that drug Shirai put in that sun lotion. B-But it feels… different."_

For the first time in his life, Jason begins to stutter.

"I uh-!"

Unfortunately, his other gloved hand went underneath her dress as it went inside her laced panties. He tried to pull out but ends up massaging her crotch. Ruiko's blush deepens when she felt his hand inside her panties.

"_S-Something's…" She tries to say in her head. "inside my panties!"_

No matter how hard she tries to resist the feeling, she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Ohhhhhhhh…" She softly moans in pleasure.

Jason heard her and he blushes in embarrassment as her moaning starts becoming louder. Not wanting make things worse, the two finally stood up but looked away from embarrassment, their faces red.

"I-I'M SO SORRY, RUIKO!" He immediately apologizes in a dramatic bow. "It's our hormones that made our bodies lose control and I-!"

"N-No, no!" The girl waves her hands in defense. "You don't have to apologize! It's my fault that I was on top of you and made you do it!"

He begins to argue but no words came out of his mouth and couldn't make her see that it wasn't true. And like that, he sighs in defeat. However, he realizes that he should be getting to work on his plan, not spending time with Ruiko on some date. Wait, did he just think that in his head?!

"Look. It's nice talking to you, but I gotta get back home soon." He says before departing with a farewell. "See ya later!"

"Okay, then! See ya!" She waves back before he is out of her sight. The girl turns around and places a hand on her chest and closes her eyes as she feels her heart beating faster. "What's wrong with me? Why is my heart so excited all of a sudden?"

Ruiko, unfortunately, couldn't figure out why she's acting so shy around him sometimes and heads back to her apartment for the night as she remains confused and oblivious to what she's feeling.

_**10 minutes earlier…**_

Kuroko sighs in frustration. For the past three months, she and Uiharu have been trying to find the killer responsible for the deaths of the Anti-Skill officers. What's worse is that they couldn't ask for any leads from their superiors since Anti-Skill's commander and new boss known as Birch removed Judgement and Yomikawa's Anti-Skill faction from the case, proving it difficult for the two Judgement girls with their own investigation.

"I can't believe this." She groans with a hint of frustration in her voice. "Three months of finding the killer and no trace of him is found! The weapon was the only lead we had into finding him! Maybe we should just give up on it."

As she continues her way back to the dorms, she notices someone from a distance and immediately recognizes his face.

"_Mr. Birch? What's he doing out here?" The teleporter wonders with suspicion in her eyes._

Birch then meets up with an elderly Caucasian male in a lab coat and red necktie.

"Dr. Vidic." The Master Templar greets his colleague. "Glad you could make it."

"Save it, Master Birch. Just tell my why you brought me out here." The scientist rudely interrupts. "I'm already busy with my own research."

"Walk with me and I'll explain." He simply says as both of them begin walking together while discussing important business.

Meanwhile, Kuroko's suspicions got the better of her as she discreetly tails them as she eavesdrop on their conversation. Several minutes later, their talk ended and went their separate ways as the Teleporter heard everything from them.

"_Artifact?" She wonders. "Animus Project? Just what the hell's going on here? And who's this 'Assassin' that Mr. Birch and this Vidic guy keep talking about?"_

Deciding that asking Birch is out of the question, Kuroko tails Vidic instead as she wants to avoid being questioned by the Anti-Skill superior for disobeying orders. She sees the scientist getting in his car and drives away to his destination. Kuroko then follows Vidic's car via teleporting building to building while keeping a distance. After a while, she then finds him entering one of Academy City's DNA Research lab.

"_Looks like this is where he's working at. But what does this research facility have to do with anything?" Kuroko questions as she decides to head back to the 177__th__ office for more info._

Before leaving, however, she spots a hooded figure in the in another building where she is standing on. She notices that he too was looking at the DNA Lab, deciding to confront the figure she teleports right where he is, but upon arrival, he is gone.

"_Who was that guy?" She wonders suspiciously._

_**Back at Judgement…**_

Kuroko did a bit of research on Warren Vidic and the DNA Research Lab he works at. While she was able to learn a bit more about Vidic, the Teleporter found nothing about what the two Templars were recently talking about as the only information on the Research Lab was on genetic/blood research which that help benefits different medical studies to assist several clinics and hospitals in the city. However, after recent events, Kuroko can't help but feel unconvinced. And since Uiharu is already at her dorm and their chief out of town for a while, Kuroko decides to not involve her partner until she can figure out what's going here. If she's going inside the facility, she'll need a change of clothes with a less chance of being recognized as a Tokiwadai student and should bring the throwing knife with her for any potential clues.

**Tokiwadai Dormitory**

**6:30 P.M.**

Kuroko has just finished packing her civilian clothes in a backback along with some of her metal spikes when Misaka enters their room. The Railgun had just got back from the store after getting lectured out by Yomikawa for making a scene at the shop.

"Oh! Hey Sissy!" Kuroko greets her best friend.

"Hey Kuroko." Misaka answers back. "Still working late again, huh?"

"Yeah." She lies, even though the murder incident is technically true. "Judgment still has their hands full and they need some help with some more paperwork on the report. Sorry about that."

"That's alright." The Level 5 waves off. "If it involves more paperwork, I rather not know the details."

Kuroko nervously laughs at this.

"R-Right. Well, I'm off to the office now. I might come back early if I'm lucky enough that is. Oh! If the dorm manager is wondering where I am, tell her what I told you. I'll see ya later, Sissy!"

"Okay! See ya later!" Misaka says to her departing roommate as Kuroko leaves the room.

**School District 5**

**Genetic Research Facility**

**7:00 P.M.**

That night, Kuroko carefully infiltrates the lab using her ability to teleport inside. Luckily, one of the hallways are empty.

"_Hmm. No security cameras either. Someone really should upgrade their security." She says to herself as she makes her way further inside the facility, unaware of someone watching her from a corner._

Kuroko eventually ends up in one of the server rooms and hacks the mainframe but learns that it was all the same information she recently knows about. Suddenly, she hears one of the researchers coming into the room. Kuroko hides then watches him go near a wall and pulls out an ID card that has the same red cross she saw on Birch's Anti-Skill group. He swipes it on a keypad and surprisingly, a secret door opens. As the researcher heads inside, Kuroko quietly follows him before the door closes on her.

Inside, she finds a large room with lots of researcher doing their work and notices guards in some areas, but what caught her attention the most was that each one of them wore the same emblem on their clothing like Birch and his men do. Noticing one of them near her, Kuroko silently knocks him out and takes his card. She then finds a nearby workstation and uses the card she took to gain access to mainframe. Numerous files were top-secret as most were about 'Those who came before', 'Precursor Artifacts', etc. Kuroko couldn't understand the details, but another file caught her attention: The Animus Program. Remembering the conversation from the two men, she opens the file and reads what she could learn about as she is surprised on what Vidic and the other scientists are working on.

Kuroko was so confused that she nearly did not notice a silhouette in the reflection of the computer screen behind her holding a gun. She uses her ability to quickly avoid the fired bullet. The Level 4 tries to escape, but as the silhouette becomes visible to her, she notices that it was a Caucasian man wearing a brown jacket over a mustard brown hoodie with a stubble on his chin.

Not planning to stay long, she attempts to escape. However, her teleporting isn't working somehow. Noticing her confusion on her face, the man speaks to her in English.

"We already noticed your snooping the moment you sneaked in here and used one of the cards to access the mainframe without authorization, so we took precautions against unwanted attention like you. And since you've already noticed your teleportation isn't working, we manage to recover parts from Capacity Down and upgraded it without the annoying high pitch sound messing our ears."

"_Damn!" She curses in her head for not realizing that they had hidden cameras in the first place._

Left with no other option, Kuroko will have to fight her way out and attacks the man. She does her best to try to knock out him out thanks to how well skilled she is in her Judgement training. However, her enemy has far more experience and training than her and was pushing Kuroko in a corner. Desperate for a way past him, she tries to strike him in his blind spot but was easily countered and the man smashes her head to the ground. Slightly dazed, Kuroko begins to get up, only to be pinned down on her back with his boot on top of her. He uses his hands to strangle her.

"_I-I c-can't breathe!" She exclaims in her head as the life out of her is being choked out._

She struggles to escape but his grip on her neck was too tight, and as she is about to pass out the throwing knife falls out of her bag. The enemy notices it and releases his chokehold on her. Kuroko gasps for air and roughly coughs as she is too weak to stand back up. Her hearing is a bit off and has a huge headache as the Level 4 sees the man picks up the throwing weapon and closely inspects it.

"Daniel!" A voice shouts to the man.

Daniel looks to his left to see that Vidic has entered the room and has an angry expression on his face.

"What the hell is going here?!" He demands.

Daniel looks down at the weakened Teleporter Esper and replies, "We've got ourselves an Assassin."

Before Kuroko could do anything, Daniel kicks her in the face, knocking her out.

_**Three hours later…**_

After tracking down Vidic's location and briefly running into Ruiko, he stands on a rooftop overlooking the building from a short distance. According to the schematics he recovered some time ago, the building's ventilation system lacks security cameras and motion sensors as this gave the Assassin the opportunity to infiltrate the place without being detected. He manages to sneak inside it and silently travels through it and finding a vent grate in the ceiling balconies. Using Eagle Vision, Jason locates the server room and manages to hack it but finds nothing valuable.

Suddenly, a secret door opens and Jason hides in time as two Templar scientists walk out of the room, discussing an important topic to which the Assassin eavesdrops on them.

"So they caught the Assassin, huh? It's about damn time." One of them comments.

"It wasn't him." The other corrects him. "Turns out it's some teenage girl that can teleport. Seems that she's been snooping around for information about that murder incident on Birch's men and a Level 0 dropout three months back."

"But what's the point of killing innocents? *scoffs* You'd think that the Order would have time to develop a drug that would erase an individual's memories about our involvement. Nope!"

"Yeah. I don't see the point anymore. Templars are supposed to be discreet like the Assassins and we're supposed to achieve world peace through order. And what's hypocritical is that we use our own free will to try and reach that goal for centuries. What the Order wants is good for all of us. But the methods we use to achieve it are too extreme and goes against everything we swore to follow. *sighs* Sometimes I wish that we could make a compromise with the Assassins and end this pointless feud, now that the war is back on again after seventy years of governing the world in the shadows."

His colleague shrugs. "Well we can't have everything. Besides, you know what our history with them is like. Every time we form an alliance with the Assassins, agents from either side are too fucking stubborn and prideful to understand and would rather see this war continue than working together. So in this case, leaders of either side would be killed in a coup or a broken truce."

"Amen to that, then." He agrees with him. "So long as this stupid war that's been going on for the last 2,000 years (That's technically true, readers, since an official Brotherhood hasn't been formed till the events of Origins, and Assassins before Bayek were proto-Assassins as they don't count as members; Templars back then have existed before them and went by different faction names, most commonly known as the Order of Ancients) continues, it's impossible to make peace and work with our enemies."

Both then nod and went back to discussing about Kuroko's capture. "Anyways, where is this girl being held up?"

"From what I heard, she's probably in an interrogation room for questioning. I feel sorry for her. But orders are orders and we can't always avoid killing people. *sighs* May God have mercy on her."

"_Shirai's here?" He wonders to himself in shock. "If she's investigating the incident that I had with Birch's men a while back and is captured, that's not good. She has no idea who she's dealing with! There not the Dark Side of Academy City and are far worse than them! Ugh! I better go find her and bust her ass out of there. But I need to gather what useful information Vidic has first."_

Coming out of his hiding spot, Jason sneaks up behind the two Templars and double assassinate them (AC Unity style). He then enters the room that was left open and finds that there are no guards except for one scientist when he uses his sense once more. He hides behind a workstation as he sees the scientist checking the files for any tampering when Kuroko used it. Paying no attention of the scientist complaining about doing it, Jason silently assassinates him from behind. With the computer still logged on, he looks through the files and is surprised to see the vast data the Templars have been collecting over the years. Using a USB, he copies the files onto it and deletes the originals.

"_There. That should do it. Now to find Shirai. The surveillance room might do the trick."_

Silently exiting the hidden room, Jason hides the two dead bodies he dealt with behind the servers so that he would have more time to avoid being discovered. After that, he eventually finds the surveillance room to be unoccupied and starts accessing the live security feed. On one of the monitors, he notices the Animus in a research office. Seems that there could be more data but decides collecting it as he has other plans instead. He looks through another monitor and to his surprise, he sees Kuroko hand-cuffed to a chair and is currently being interrogated by Vidic and another Templar Jason immediately recognizes.

"_That must be Cross." He identifies. "No surprise, considering he's like a son to Vidic in a twisted way. Just like Vidic and Cross from my timeline."_

Jason turns on the camera audio in that particular monitor and listens in.

'**What's going here?! I demand an explanation!' Kuroko demands, only to receive a punch to the face once more. Her face has a black eye and her nose is bleeding from the strike she took.**

'**Calm down, Daniel.' Vidic calmly says to Daniel in English as they need her alive for any info she might have. For now, at least. 'Beating information out of people isn't always the best solution.'**

**Cross eventually understands him and crosses his arms while looking away. **

'**Whatever you say, Doc.' He answers in English, a little disappointed that his father figure stopped him.**

**Vidic then steps forward and starts questioning her in Japanese.**

'**I don't think you're in a position to be asking questions, Mrs. Shirai. And escape is impossible thanks to Capacity Down that we recovered for some time.'**

'_**No kidding.' Kuroko rolls her eyes in annoyance.**_

'**Now tell me, why are you here?' Vidic kindly asks the Level 4.**

**Left with no choice, she partly tells them the truth about the incident three months back and has been investigating it ever since.**

'**Mr. Birch told me about the incident. However, he and his division within Anti-Skill are the only ones allowed to investigate it. So why do this off record?'**

'**It's because I couldn't stand by and do nothing. So I did it on my own.' She explains further while carefully not mentioning Uiharu's involvement.**

'**Hmm.' The Templar says while taking in this information. 'You have a strong sense of justice, and I admire and respect that. Unfortunately for you, you're a loose end and must be tidied up.'**

**Vidic looks back at Cross as the Master Templar looks back at him.**

'**So what do we do with her, Doc?'**

'**Find out if she has any more useful information and kill her.'**

'**WHAT?!' She shouts in horror as she struggles to break free.**

'**Anything else?' Cross asks further if there's anything else Vidic has for him.**

'**Yes.' He nods. 'When you're done with her, see if there are others involved in her 'little investigation' and kill them as well. And please Daniel, try and be discreet on this one. We don't need any more surprising witnesses like that Assassin, now would we?'**

'**Understood.'**

'**You can't do this! People will find out! And when they do, you're going to be sorry for this!'**

**Vidic simply laughs at what she's exclaiming before telling her, 'Oh my dear... You have no idea how wrong you are.'**

Back in the surveillance room, this was no surprise to Jason either as he's already use to this kind of predicament.

"Looks like Shirai's about to be killed. No way to go in there without endangering her life, so I'll have to resort in shorting out the facility's power. That way, Capacity Down won't be a problem for her."

Luckily, he has two EMP charges and plants them on the floor. Then, he presses a few buttons on a touchpad screen of his detonator and the charges make a night vision google activation sound as it detonates a huge pulse that fried the facility's primary power.

'**Warning! All Primary Systems have been disabled! Rerouting to emergency power!' A voice announces as the lights turn red.**

**Both Vidic and Cross were caught off guard at this as this gave Kuroko the chance to escape. She teleports out of her cuffs and quickly knocks both Templars out with a drop kick as Daniel is smashed into a wall in the process.**

'**Ha! Sucks to be you!' She smirks as she exits the room.**

"_Time to get to the Animus and take out Vidic." He says to himself while running down towards the research office where the machine is kept at._

Arriving at the office, Jason runs into a few guards and uses his revolver to headshot them before they could even react. He then plants a remote charge on the Animus and gets clear of it when he detonated it, destroying the machine and permanently ending the Animus project.

Suddenly, Vidic bursts in the office from the other side. To his horror, he sees that the machine and any data in it has been destroyed.

"No! That was my life's work! All of it gone!" He cries out in horror and anger.

He then notices Jason from a distance and attempts to run away but the Assassin runs toward him before the Templar got a chance to escape, and he kicks Vidic in the leg that resulting in flipping the Templar over and lands on his back before Jason finally stabs him with his hidden blade. (High Profile Assassination variation in AC Unity and Syndicate)

And then, the entire surrounding falls apart digitally as the two are now in a Memory Corridor with. varying dark and bright blue background with black lines.

**(Black Room)**

"Damn you, Assassin!" Vidic curses at him as he chokes out blood from his mouth.

"Your dream dies with you, Vidic." Jason says to the dying Templar as he looks down towards him. "Your research and Animus is gone."

"I should've known that you were planning to destroy everything that I worked so hard for. Cross will avenge me, and he'll kill you for what you've done."

"Let him try." The Assassin rolls his eyes. "After all, you were the one that made him into a fucking mess from prolonged exposure to the Animus. You think you're doing good, but you don't give a damn about the safety of those people you experimented on. I'm glad that I get to kill you this time."

"What do you mean kill me this time?"

Jason said nothing to him, angering Vidic.

"So you won't tell me then? Fine. I hope that you burn in hell for making trouble in the New World."

And like that, Vidic closes his eyes and finally dies by Jason's hand.

"May your sins be cleansed in the next life." He speaks in Italian before switching to Latin. "Requiescat in pace."

**(Real World)**

The world returns to normal as Jason had finished giving his now dead target his final rites. He turns around to make his escape only to unexpectedly see Kuroko and became startled. She was in shock as she has heard the whole thing from the two.

"Jason? I-I don't understand. Why did you kill him?" She questions the hooded teen.

"Shirai-." He begins to explain when suddenly, the entire room starts bursting in flames due to the explosion that he made. "Come on! We need to get the hell out of here before this place blows!"

"Bu-!"

"There's no time! Use your ability to get us out of here now!"

Kuroko hesitates at first but agrees with him. She then grabs onto his shoulder and teleports the two outside of the research facility. Fortunately, it was within her radius.

"Alright Jason, start talking right now before I stick my spikes into your body." She threateningly demands at him. "Just what the hell is going here? And how are you involved in this mess?"

Before he could speak, a small explosion came out of the Lab which made her jump and looks back. When she turns her attention back at him, he was already gone.

"Damn it!" She curses under her breath.

The Level 4 Teleporter then hears sirens from a distance and not wanting any more trouble, she teleports away.

**11:23 P.M.**

Kuroko opens the door to her shared dormitory room as the light is already off. She begins to take off her civilian clothes to put on her pajamas when a lamp light turns on. She turns around to only see Misaka sitting in a chair with her legs and arms crossed.

"Hey, Sissy." She greets nervously. "Still awake, right?"

But Misaka wouldn't have it as she is upset with her.

"Kuroko don't start lying your way out of this. You're not even in our school uniform when you got back." She says before noticing her injuries. "Oh my god, what happened to you?!"

"S-Sissy there's nothing to worry about! I'm fine!" She defends before wincing in pain.

"Fine?! You're hurt and now you're telling me you're fine?!" Misaka yells with worriedness in her voice. "I thought your long absents in these last few months was Judgement business and I believed you, but then I got suspicious from you as something is definitely wrong. So tell me what the hell were you even doing!"

"Shhhhhhhhh!" The Teleporter shushes the Railgun. "The dorm manager might hear us! Look, I promise that I'll tell you everything, okay? I'm tired and I need to treat my wounds. I'll explain it all to you, Uiharu, and Saten tomorrow."

"Huh? Uiharu and Saten? Why them as well?" Misaka questions.

"You might find this hard to believe but…" Kuroko hesitates at first but sighs and spills some of the beans to her. "…I think Jason's somehow involved in this."

_**Back at the genetics facility from before…**_

**11:30 P.M.**

Daniel stares at the dead corpse of Warren Vidic. His face is filled with pain, anger, and humiliation mixed together.

"Damn him." He curses under his breath. "That son of a bitch is going to get his fucking ass kicked when I see him. How dare he makes me look like a fool!"

Suddenly, a burst of laughter is heard, and Daniel turns around to see a man in a black trench coat with a top hat and a ragged cloth mask over his head.

"Great job in securing the Animus and helping the old doctor, Danny Boy." He taunts the Master Templar with a hint of sarcasm in his deep British accent.

"Fuck off, Jack!" Daniel yells at him in annoyance. "Why the hell are you even here anyway? Shouldn't you be doing your own thing in England?"

The man known as Jack simply hands a dossier envelope over to Daniel who then rudely snatches it and reads its contents. Daniel's eyes widen at what's written on it and looks at Jack for confirmation.

"That's right, Daniel." He chuckles at the shocked Master Templar. "It's your lucky day. You and I are going on a hunting trip."

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Sequence 3: Chapter 3

**Sequence 3****: Chapter 3**

**Saten's Apartment**

**School District 7**

**21 July, 2023**

It was yet another bright morning for Ruiko. She has just finished cleaning her apartment and eating breakfast as she makes plans to invite her friends to Endymion City, located in the twenty-third school district. Although it's not a 'city' persay, it covers about one block of Academy City that surrounds the remains of the short-lived space elevator that nearly collapsed which would've resulted in the destruction of the city and the entire Northern Hemisphere (this happened sometime before the Daihasei Festival).

_'I wonder if Jason would like this kind of trip...' She thinks to herself as yesterday's event made her uncomfortable once more with her cheeks becoming red again._ "I shouldn't even think about THAT! It was just an accident! And like he said, our teenage hormones got the better of us."

Suddenly, her smartphone starts ringing and Ruiko answers it.

"Hello?" She answers her phone. "Oh, morning Uiharu. What's up? *remains silent for a moment* Misaka and Shirai wants to have a meeting at your place? What for? *silence* Huh? They didn't say why but says it's important? *silence before letting out a sigh* Alright, I'll be right over."

The Level 0 hangs up the phone and went to get dressed. A few minutes later, she is already wearing her sleeveless tank top and her pants above her ankles along with a pair of white sneakers, and has her hair tied back into a pony tail. She then exits her home and locks the door before heading over to Uiharu's place with the only question on her mind: What does Misaka and Shirai want to discuss that's important?

**Uiharu's Apartment**

**School District 7**

About 15 minutes later, Ruiko arrives at her best friend's apartment and is greeted by the Uiharu, Misaka, and Shirai (with bandages above her forehead).

"What happened to you Shirai? Did you get hurt while apprehending delinquents or something?" Ruiko asks with a bit concern in her tone.

Before Shirai could speak, Misaka interrupts them.

"About that, it's why Kuroko and I wanted to discuss it with you and Uiharu."

"But why here? You could've chosen Joseph's." The confused Level 0 points out.

"It's because Uiharu's apartment has thick walls so we don't need to be eavesdropped on what we need to discuss about. Or in this case, Kuroko and Uiharu that's been hiding something from us." Misaka explains before gesturing towards the two Judgement officers resulting in Ruiko to look at the two partners in confusion.

"Huh?" Uiharu nervously asks before being nudged by Shirai.

"Sissy's been suspicious of us for some time ago, Uiharu." Shirai whispers to her Judgment partner. "There's no point in keeping this a secret from our friends. They deserve to know what's been going on in the last three months."

Uiharu sighs and nods.

"You're right. It's time that we come clean with them."

"What are you guys talking about?" Ruiko questions the two. "And what is it that you're hiding from Misaka and I?"

"Three months ago, Uiharu and I began an off-record investigation on the same murder incident that resulted in the deaths of Anti-Skill personal and a high school drop out."

Ruiko and Misaka are shocked about this.

"Why would you keep this from your superiors? You know there are consequences if you two get into trouble for that kind of disobedience!"

"There's more to what's going on with this case, Sissy." The Teleporter calmly explains further. "When we started looking into it alongside Yomikawa for evidence, our new superior and his own Anti-Skill Division took over and refused the support from other divisions. Judgement too. The guy wouldn't even budge at all, and now there's something fishy going on with him ever since he took over. And for those past few months, we weren't able to find anything that's connected to the murder weapon I accidentally took from the crime scene."

"You what?" Misaka and Ruiko exclaims in shock again.

"If what you guys are saying is true then can you show us what it looks like?" Ruiko asks.

"W-Well about that..." Shirai nervously begins.

"What Shirai?" Uiharu questions her partner. "Do you still have the throwing knife?"

"Sorry Uiharu. I lost it last night."

"You lost it?!" Uiharu shouts at the Level 4 Teleporter making the Level 5 and Level 0 flinch. "That's the only lead we have to figuring out who is responsible for the killings of those fellow Anti-Skill!"

"It's not something I was expecting, okay?! There was no way I saw it coming!"

"What do you mean 'you didn't see it coming'?" Ruiko asks. "You're one of Judgement's best officers and a Level 4 Teleporter."

Shirai sighs again, annoying Misaka once more as she then bonks her on the head.

"Quit with the sighing, Kuroko! Just tell us how you lost it and what happened that resulted in that head injury. I'm losing my patience with you!"

"Okay, okay!" She exclaims while rubbing her head. "It happened yesterday while I was on my way to our dorm. I was about to give up on the case since I believed it to be a dead end when I overheard Birch talking to some old geezer in a lab coat."

"Birch?" Ruiko questionly says in confusion.

"He's our new superior to Anti-Skill and Judgement that we just talked about a few minutes ago, Saten." Uiharu explains to her best friend. "Reginald Birch II."

"Hold on, did you say his name is literally Reginald Birch II?" The Level 0 snickers. "T-That has to be one fancy name he has."

"Saten, this is serious. You shouldn't make fun of the guy's name." Shirai lectures the girl with a serious tone.

"Sorry, sorry." She apologizes with a cheeky grin while rubbing the back of her head. "I couldn't help on how fancy his name is."

"Anyways, aside from that, who is this scientist he was talking to? Gensei Kihara?" Misaka asks.

Shirai shakes her head.

"No, not him. It was some lesser known guy name Dr. Warren Vidic. He's a specialty in genetics, spends most of his time in memory research. Both he and Birch were discussing things, something about artifacts and an Animus project. But what got me even more suspicious is how tensed they are about an 'Assassin'."

This caught her friends attention at that word.

"Assassin?" Misaka interrupts her. "Are you saying that your new superior, this Dr. Vidic, and this Assassin are somehow connected to the murder?"

Shirai nodded.

"Possibly. But I don't know if this Assassin IS involved with the murders of the officers and the Level 0 drop out. After I followed Vidic back to a research facility, I had to infiltrate that place to follow that new lead I had and-."

"You went alone?!" Uiharu freaks out again. "How many times do I have to tell you not go in on your own like that?"

The others had the same reaction as her as well but Shirai didn't stop explaining.

"I know, it's really stupid of me. But I didn't want to put you in danger Uiharu. Not after what happened during the Jailbreak incident where you were forced to create an extensive network for the rest of the world to have Espers like this city does. You understand, right?"

"I do but you can't just go in alone like that."

"Well I didn't have time to let you know and this new lead led me to a hidden lab beneath the outdated building." She continues while deciding to wrap up her story quickly. "There was tons of information I couldn't make out that I mentioned earlier and it's how I ended up like this by Vidic's right hand man named Daniel Cross. I was nearly choked to death by this guy and ended up losing the knife to him and Vidic. When I came to, they were already interrogating me on what I was up to and were planning to kill me when somehow the power to the building went out, and that's when I broke free and was on my way to escape."

"Hold on, how did this Cross even defeat you? That doesn't make sense at all Kuroko."

"Somehow the lab had a security measure against Espers and Cross explained that it was a modified version of Capacity Down. Or what's left of it anyway."

"That's impossible." Ruiko says in disbelief. "I destroyed the last machine during the Poltergeist incident. How did they get their hands it when I already destroyed it with only a bat?"

"That's what I still don't know about." Shirai shrugs in disappointment. "And as I was about to teleport to safey, I heard a big explosion coming from down the hallway so I went to investigate it."

"And?" Misaka asks further on what happened next.

"When I got there, the room was already on fire and I saw Vidic on his knees lamenting that his life's work is ruined. It was then I realized that someone destroyed his Animus project and it turned out to be none other than a hooded figure. I saw that the scientist was instantly taken down with a clean kill and you guys aren't going to believe whose voice I recognized underneath that hood of his. Especially from you Saten."

"What?" Her friends ask in confusion.

"Who Shirai?" Ruiko questions right as the Teleporter sighs.

"The person underneath the hood is our friend Jason. He even told me to teleport the both of us out of the facilty when it was ready to blow. I was about to question him when we got out but the explosion from the place distracted me and he slipped away, forcing me to get out of there and return to the dorm before the authorities could arrive. And that's when Sissy found out about what I was doing." Shirai concludes her story.

Her friends had mixed reactions about Jason's involvement, more so with Ruiko. Everything was silent in the room before Ruiko laughs.

"That was a bad joke Shirai." She laughs but when she saw Shirai's expression, the Teleporter is being serious about it. "You're not kidding, aren't you?"

"I'm afraid not Saten." Shirai shakes her head.

"But why would Jason kill Vidic?" Misaka asks, still in disbelief that their new best friend was there. "What's his involvement in this? Could he be involved in the murder back in April and is he connected to this Assassin that Birch and Vidic are so paranoid and angry about?"

"I don't know Sissy. But maybe we should all go ask him ourselves. He's hiding something that's for sure."

"No." Ruiko said earning a look from her friends. "How can you start accusing Jason like that? There's no way he's involved."

"Saten, I saw it with my own eyes." Shirai argues with the Level 0. "His deepened voice was recognizable."

"And what if you're wrong?" Ruiko angrily retorts. "Jason isn't the kind of guy to be brooding around wearing a hoodie, let alone killing someone."

"That's not what-." Uiharu calmy tries to explain to her best friend but was interrupted by her.

"No!" The Level 0 shouts in anger, making her friends flinch at her outburst. They've never seen her angry like this before. "You know what? All of this is so confusing that I don't want to think he would be the type you described to me."

Ruiko then gets up and walks out of Uiharu's apartment as she now has tears in her eyes.

"Saten wait!" The Level 1 calls for her and was about to go after her but was stopped by a hand on the shoulder which is coming from Misaka.

"Let her go Uiharu." Misaka calmly says. "She needs some time alone to think, that's all."

"But Misaka-." The Level 1 was about to argue but Shirai buts in.

"No, Sissy's right." Shirai admits sadly. "It was wrong for me to argue with Saten. She probably needs to cool off."

"And knowing from how Saten's feeling about Jason, she's forming a bond with him. Not to mention spending time with him over the last few months we've known about him." Misaka points out. "Hell, we still don't know much about him other than that he's from the U.S."

Uiharu thinks for a moment at what they said. From what Misaka pointed out, they barely know anything about him and he doesn't always spend time with them a lot.

"Come to think of it, he rarely talks to the four of us for some reason." She says before taking out her laptop to bring up any information about him.

"So what else do we know about him Uiharu?" Shirai asks her as her partner looks through Jason's (fake) file.

"It says that Jason's a Level 0 like Saten is. Odd. His records are clean."

"No other priors besides that he's from America?"

"Uh uh." She confirms. "Wait a minute."

Uiharu then takes a closer look and hack through the file and discovers what she found.

"Guys! I think his file and records are forged!" Uiharu reveals to her friends earning a shock look from the Tokiwadai students.

"Fake?" Misaka says as she takes a look at what the flower headed girl is looking at. "So he's not a Level 0 this whole time?"

"Which means he's been lying to us about being an Esper." Shirai mutters in anger and disbelief. "So he somehow infiltrated Academy City and now he's going around killing people? Question is why?"

"Then maybe we 'should' ask him." Misaka suggests with a few angry electric sparks coming off of her. "I have a few questions for him that he better not ignore me like a certain Idiot I know."

"Don't tell me you're talking about that troglodyte, Sissy!" Shirai suddenly starts getting overdramatic and starts hugging her in a perverted creepy way. "He will not take my Sissy awa-! Aaaaahhhh!"

Misaka then electrocutes her in complete annoyance while blushing crazily.

"S-Shut up!"

**Meanwhile...**

Ruiko is on her way back to her apartment. She is a bit depressed (while still in tears) after hearing from what Shirai has told her.

_'How could Shirai talk about him that way? There's no way he's responsible for killing people.' She says in her thoughts while walking down the streets._

Turning at another corner, she takes a shorter, faster route through the city's alley ways. This is most likely because she knows them a bit more than her friends due as the girl tends to look into urban legends that are sometimes no more than rumors based on real-life events that became twisted by other people. There were a few exceptions, however. Like the Level-Upper, the Poltergeisting incident, references towards a certain unlucky boy with the power to stop powers from working, stories of a woman that strips out in public, a subway train that never stops and keeps on going, and so on.

Ruiko stops in the middle of the alley as she shifts one of her feet close to her other. It's basically one of her habits whenever she's either shy or depressed.

_'But what if she's right? What if the things about Jason is true? If so, then he must have a good reason for it. If not, well... maybe - just maybe - he can be saved from the actions he's committing.'_

Suddenly, the girl gasps with her eyes widening as she hears something from behind. Turning around, she looks back but sees nothing. Being the curious girl she is, Ruiko decides to use her abilty that she recently got not too long ago and closes her eyes before opening them to find her surroundings to be black and white everywhere. She was planning on showing it to her friends as a surprise, but with today's talk about what happened with Shirai and the talk about Jason and all, it seems it's not the right time for her to reveal it to them yet.

While in this state, she hears whispers as they echo everywhere and they keep on getting louder as something or someone is getting close to her. Returning her vision back to normal, she attempts to sniff the air for anything bad coming to her. Starting to get nervous that she's being stalked, she goes into her pocket only to find that she left her smartphone back home.

_'Damn it!' She curses in her thoughts. 'I didn't bring it with me and I can't call Uiharu 'cause I think some creep is following me.'_

Not wanting to stick around to find out who's following her, she continues towards the exit out of this backalley while picking up the pace before she starts running. A few moments later, she is about to reach for the streets before something poke her right arm and winces in pain a bit. The girl looks down and sees a dart of sorts in her arm before she pulls it out. Suddenly, everything is making her vision blurry and her head hurt, forcing her to drop the dart.

_'W-What's happening to m-me?' She wonders in horror as her eyes are beginning to droop. 'I-I feel so tired...'_

And like that, she collapses to the ground and gasps as she looks at a blond-haired foriegner that shot her before she falls alseep.

The man then picks up the girl and carries her over his shoulder. It was none other than Daniel Cross. He then notices his partner leaving behind something.

"What are you doing, Jack?" Cross asks him in annoyance. "We're suppose to be taking her as a hostage somewhere else not screw around before someone sees us! That'll make things more complicated! Seriously, I don't know why the Order even fucking tolerates you while you want to play 'Cat and Mouse' with the real target.'

The Ripper chuckles at his statement as he is writing something on a wall.

"Oh Danny. If only a Master Templar like yourself knows how to use his brain for once. If you want to get the Assassin's attention, then you have to leave a message that can and can't be seen." The Master of Terror answers before he finishes and tosses the can sprayer he was using aside. "After all, I've been watching him ever since he started killing off your buddies one by one. And now that I have one of his friends, he will be the one that'll fail to save her."

"You know who the Assassin is?" Cross asks in surprise. "Then you must tell us so that we can put the fucker down."

Jack's expression underneath his clothed bag mask turned to a grim one when he heard what Cross is demanding.

"Do you really think I give a damn about your kind's stupid New World Order? Let me make this clear to you and your masters: I. AM. THE. RIPPER. You don't need to know about his identity. All that matters is killing him. THAT'S IT." He snarls at Cross before calming down. "Let's go. It seems Birch is waiting for us back at his little fortress of his."

The two then leave the alley, only to unknowningly not know that Ruiko's lucky charm lies on the ground.

**To Be Continued...**


	10. Sequence 3: Chapter 4

**Sequence 3: Chapter 4**

**A few minutes later...**

Jason walks through the alleyways of Academy City. He was in deep thought of last night's events. When he killed his target that night, he didn't expect Shirai to witness it.

_'...And now she's onto me. Most likely chewed out by Misaka and the others as well.' He recalls those recent events with a sigh. 'I'm not sure what to tell them. They don't have the hearts to put aside their 'no killing' moralities for the greater good. And they shouldn't be forced into an ancient war that's been going on in the last few thousand years. As for Ruiko, I can't just say 'Hey, I'm part of a secret faction of killers that's been fighting a presumed extinct order of crusader knights that have existed since the birth of humanity and long before they were called Templars.' How will she take that information, let alone the others? I don't know if they deserve to learn that the Assassins' long going enemy have been influencing the world and manipulating everyone's lives for their self-interest goal. This kind of knowledge isn't for those who don't want their dreams and reality shattered. After learning about the Paremeter List, I can't imagine what Ruiko would think or do if she found out about it.'_

Going around another corner, the Master Assassin accidentally steps on a paint sprayer. He looks down and crouches for a closer look. He then notices transparent residue dripping out of the sprayer's nozzle. Jason switches to Eagle Vision.

_'Odd.' He raises his eyebrow. 'The residue dripping out appears to be invisible paint. That kind of stuff is rarely seen on the black market.'_

Looking from the tool to the ground, he sees a trail of invisible paint. He stands up and follows it up until he sees a message of sorts in Japanese Kanji and strangely in the Isu language. What creeps him out even more is the way it was written on the wall. Jason's eyes widen at what the combined languages translate to:

'HER DEATH WILL BE THE BEGINNING OF YOUR DOWNFALL. SAVE HER IF YOU CAN, ASSASSIN.'

"No... Don't tell me..." Jason says aloud and then notices a familiar object on ground. He picks it up and immediately recognizes it. "Ruiko's good luck charm..."

He then tries to contact her with his small earpiece, only to recieve no response on her end. Jason clenches his fist in anger at this.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" He punches the wall in full rage. "Shit! They knew! They knew I would take out Vidic and his Animus project! They knew about Ruiko and her heritage ever since I killed Matsumoto! I've played right into their hands, and she knows nothing about what's going on!"

Just then, he gets a response from another call of one of his targets.

_**"Looking for someone?" The caller speaks.**_

"Birch." Jason answers back with the anger in him. "What did you do her?"

_**"Nothing. She isn't harmed thanks to Master Cross discreetly bring her to me. Of course, this is your fault to begin with. Taking down the New World that WE have work so hard to create in the last few thousand years? The Assassins' - or THE last Assassin - needs to get with the times. We've already won."**_

"And you're so called New World is a joke. You think that by earning the trust of the people, you'd rather commit the evil you Templars constantly like to preach about and swore to fight against in order to achieve your vision of peace?! That girl has nothing to do with this fight!"

Birch chuckles at his amusing statement.

_**"Really now?" The Anti-Skill Division leader/Master Templar sarcastically asks. "If you're so smarter than us, prove it then. Come find us if you can. Do it, and Ms. Saten doesn't need to die."**_

The call ends before Jason could give him a smartass remark, frustrating him even more.

"Damn it." He curses. "There's no trail that could possibly lead me to her."

He needs to let her friends - no, there his friends too - know what happened, and he then calls them.

**Back at Uiharu's apartment...**

Uiharu's phone rings and she, Misaka, and Shirai heard it. Taking her phone out, the flower headed girl sees an unlisted number that's unknown to her. She then flips her phone and answers it.

_**"Uiharu." Jason's voice is heard through her right ear.**_

"Jason? Wait, how'd you get my cell number?!" She questions the boy from the other end of call, getting the full attention of the Tokiwadai girls. "I never gave you my-!"

_**"That doesn't matter right now!" He interrupts her before she could finish. "We've got a problem!"**_

Before Uiharu could ask, Misaka grabs her phone and puts it on speaker.

"Doesn't matter?! You have a lot of explaining to do!" The Railgun angrily accuses. "You lied to us! We know that you forged fake records to infiltrate Academy City under the guise of a Level 0! You have one chance to start talking!"

"_**Ruiko's been taken!" He yells in anger and worriedness.**_

"WHAT?!" The three girls shout in horror.

"How? What happened?" Uiharu demands with the same shocked expression she and her friends have.

"_**Birch sent Cross to abduct her, and use her as a hostage." He calmly explains with a hint of anger still in his voice.**_

Uiharu gasps at this and starts crying.

"Saten! No..." Uiharu laments, afraid that Saten might be killed.

"How can someone like Birch - an Academy City Board of Director, let alone Anti-Skill's new superior - would do this?" Misaka questions herself in complete anger while electricity surrrounds her.

"This is all my fault." Shirai says aloud in shame, earning a look from her friends. "Birch is doing this to get to me for snooping around in Vidic's lab and investigating that case."

"Shirai..." Uiharu sniffles after she stopped crying. "There was no way you could've predicted something like this happened. We're both to blame for this. If we hadn't broken protocol to find out what that murder was all about, Saten wouldn't have been kidnapped!"

"_**No." Jason simply says. "You're not to blame for this, so beating yourself up and crying about isn't going to help."**_

The three girls look back at Uiharu's phone with confused looks.

"What are you talking about?" Misaka asks.

"_**Right now, all that matters is to find out where Birch has Ruiko!" He continues. "Unless I get to him first."**_

"Shouldn't we call Anti-Skill about what happened?" Misaka asks. "I'm sure they-."

"Sissy, Birch is their boss and a member of the governing board!" Shirai points out. "Most of them are under his payroll and even if we try to tell Konori or Yomikawa about it , there's nothing that they can do to help us get Saten back!"

"So that means...?" Uiharu begins asking, realizing what she means.

"...We're on our own." Misaka finishes her sentence in frustration.

"_**If it's alright with you, I think I might have a possible lead on Birch." Jason says.**_

"You do?" The girls ask in surprise. "Tell us!"

_**Jason sighs at how insistent they are for answers. "Look, all I know is that a contact of mine learned of an arms deal being run by Birch that's happening somewhere in School District 19. But when exactly, that's the issue."**_

"Hold on, Birch has a weapon business of his own?" Uiharu says in disbelief before rolling her eyes at the stupid question she asked. "*sarcasm* No surprise there."

"Sounds like your source isn't that reliable." Shirai guesses with a deadpan expression.

"_**Or that he's withhelding further info from me." He seconds it. "He's a freelance. It's what he does."**_

"Shouldn't we be helping you find out where Birch is," Misaka asks. "despite everything you've told us about that bastard?"

However, what they didn't expect was his angered voice.

"_**Not a chance. He's mine."**_

Before they could speak, Jason had already hung up, frustrating Misaka even more.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" She yells in annoyance before handing Uiharu's phone back to her. "Ugh, he reminds me too much of that Idiot!"

"I don't think he is, Misaka." Uiharu explains to her. "Being a loner and less talkative is one thing, but Jason's not that stupid."

"She has a point, Sissy." The Teleporter agrees with her Judgement partner and friend. "There's no way he's in comparison to that Troglodyte you're so fond of so much."

Misaka blushes at her statement.

"I told you to not call him that! And why would I be interested in him anyway?!" She says to her best friend while going tsundere.

"But what Shirai's trying to say is that Jason is just concerned with what's going to happen to Saten. Those two have a bond for each other."

"So you're saying that Jason might have faced something like this before?" Misaka asks her while placing a finger on her chin and thinks about it for a bit.

"Maybe he lost someone close to him. That's why he wants to go and rescue Saten alone." Uiharu further hypothesizes her theory before gasping in shock with a blush on her face. "He's like a dashing knight in shining armor for a princess like her! And maybe they'll confess before... b-before..."

"Huh?" Both Misaka and Shirai confusingly ask their friend. "Before what?"

"...J-Joining their bodies together?" Uiharu finishes her sentence with a squeak in her voice as she uncomfortably blushes further at what she said.

Both Misaka and Shirai took a few seconds to process on what she said before their faces turned red a what she means.

'Saten maybe a bit perverted when it comes to flipping Uiharu's skirt, but going so far to court the guy and have sex with the guy? That's intoxicating!' Shirai says in her thoughts filled with giddy before getting perverted again. 'If only that kind of romance only worked on me and my Sissy, but then again I'm not 'straight' like the others. So long as Sissy is mine, I'll-!'

Misaka punches Shirai on the head to stop her from getting all creepy around her.

"Quit it!" Misaka lectures her roommate before getting back to the main topic. "This isn't the time to be talking about THAT. If Jason's going after the asshole who kidnapped Saten, then he can't do this alone."

Misaka is about to head out of Uiharu's apartment when Kuroko and Uiharu notices this.

"Hold on a second! You're not planning on going after Jason alonge to help him get Saten back, are you?" Kuroko questions the Level 5.

"If he's headed for the 19th School District, then I need to catch up to him before he does something reckless."

But as she is about to open the front door, Kuroko teleports in front of the Railgun with a serious look on her face.

"Look..." The Teleporter sighs. "I know you want to do this alone like you always do sometimes, you're going to need my help since my so-called 'Superior' could've implemented the upgraded Compacity Down to whatever location he's at."

"Kuroko-" Misaka begins to argue but was cut off by Uiharu who stood up off the floor.

"Shirai's right, Misaka!" The Level 1 agrees with her Judgement partner. "Jason needs the three of us! Plus, it's time I return the favor to Saten for rescuing me at the 2nd Reformatory. She's done so much in the past year, and I owe her that much. We all do. So I'm coming too, whether you like it or not."

The Tokiwadai students are completely surprised at what she just said. Uiharu does have her moments after all.

"That's very motivational coming from you, Uiharu." Shirai compliments her partner cooly, flustering the girl.

"Y-Yeah... I can be like that sometimes." She admits.

Misaka then chuckles before giving out a smirk, determination in her eyes.

"Alright then." She says before looking away for a moment to do a determined pose. "Let's go and save Saten!"

**To Be Continued...**


	11. Sequence 3: Chapter 5

**Sequence 3: Chapter 5**

**Unknown Location**

**Around 2:30 P.M.**

Ruiko's blue eyes open as she starts to wake up after being shot by a tranquilizer.

_'My head... What happened?' She wonders while taking a look at her surroundings._

The girl seems to be in an unknown building of sorts and it looks like she's in a jail cell that's inside a small room. She then sees a keypad next to the door that leads outside of the room housing the cell she's currently in.

Ruiko sighs at the predicament she's in right now.

_'I'm really getting sick of being kidnapped everytime.' The Level 0 laments. 'Am I really THAT attractive to the creeps that constantly stalk me for their perverted minds?'_

Just then, the door outside of the room opens as a British man walks in. The girl stands up and walks toward the metal bars of her cell to get a good look at him.

"Ruiko Saten. Daughter of Tatsumi and Haruko Saten, age 14, former user of the Level Upper, and current Esper rank: Level 0." The man - Reginald Birch II - announces her identity toward the girl in Japanese. "You're not an easy young girl to find in this city."

"Who are you?" Ruiko demands with a serious look while trying not to show her shyness.

"My name is Reginald Birch II, or Birch for short if you would like to call me that way. Member of the Academy City Board of Directors and the new head of Anti-Skill. Well, some of it anyways." He says to her, causing the girl's eyes to widen.

"I've heard of you!" She gasps in surprise. "You're the guy that officially announced that you and your Anti-Skill division would be taking over that murder case a few months back."

"Indeed." He nods. "Though, it must've been when Miss Shirai must've told you about last night's recent events, correct?"

Ruiko takes a step back at what she just heard. This guy somehow knows about Shirai's snooping.

"How did you-?" She questions with the same shocked expression as Birch wasn't surprised by her reaction at all.

"Kuroko Shirai. Kazari Uiharu. Mikoto Misaka." He calmly interrupts her with a smirk as he explains it to her. "Those are the names of your friends and yet one of them is a Level 5. I'm impressed. As for how I know about you four, we've been keeping any eye on you for the last three months. From records show, you were involved in the stopping of Miss Lifeline from destroying Academy City in an attempt to create a Level 6 Esper not long after the Level Upper incident, which happened about a year ago."

"And what sort of evidence do you have that I was involved in either of those events, sir?" She sarcastically asks the Anti-Skill (secretly a Master Templar) leader.

"Well, psychological analysis from your file suggests that you came into the city to become an Esper. You seem to have a few high scores in your education here and surprisingly, you're still a Level 0. I almost pity you that you don't have an ability. Tell me, why did you want to become an Esper?"

Ruiko doesn't know where this question is going so she decided to play along for now.

"Because I thought that having superpowers is cool." She answers while looking away. "And later on, I wanted to use them to help people."

"Is that so? That's not the real reason you want to be an Esper. Your analysis shows that you envy your friends because you don't have a power like them, and desperately want one so bad that you didn't even care about them or anyone else anymore. Only for yourself alone."

"That's all in the past!" She angrily yells at him for mentioning that. "And I'm not gonna give up trying!"

"And even if you do have a chance at gaining an ability, would your desire for power return?" He pushes the topic further. "You may be a strong girl, but you're not that strong. The Level Upper incident proves it."

"Stop!" She shouts at him in his attempt at revealing her private life at her. "What do you want from me and why?"

"I was going to ask you about the location of some certain keys my superiors want, but from what I can tell in our talk, I doubt you know where anyways. It would seem you're unaware of your real heritage."

"Keys?! Heritage?!" She asks in confusion. "What are you talking about?! I don't know anything about what you mentioned to me! I'm just a normal middle schooler!"

"You're not here because of what you don't know about. You're merely just bait to lure in a certain major nuisance that's been killing my men and interfering in our work."

"The Assassin?" She guesses.

"Correct Miss Saten." He confirms her suspicions. "And once we've eliminated him, you'll be free to go."

The girl scoffs at this. Like everytime a bad guy says that, they intend to either keep their victims as slaves for 'certain reasons', or kill them for knowing too much.

"Yeah right." She rolls her eyes at this. "You'll just kill me since I'm a witness and all."

"No, we won't kill you."

"Huh?" She looks back at him with a confused expression.

"I'm not joking Miss Saten." He explains. "You'll be free to go back to your normal life. That is, if you decided to join him and his lost cause. And even if you tell anyone about what Miss Shirai has told you and your friends, we have greater influence over this city since it was first founded seventy years ago so there's no point in killing a civilian like yourself if you have hard evidence against us. And what's funny is that evidence has a way of disappearing."

Birch then turns around and heads for the door that takes him outside of the room.

"If you're some faction that's from the Dark Side of Academy City, my friends and I will find a way to stop you. We always have and always will." Ruiko says with determination on her face.

Birch just laughs at how naive she is as he enters the code on the keypad that opens the door. He then turns his head around to see her shocked face yet again.

"Girl... You have no idea how long we've existed. And it's how we've finally won." He cryptically says with an evil smirk plastered on his face and exits the room before the door closes on itself.

Ruiko is now left alone, questions flooded in her mind.

_'Just who is that creep?' She curiously shudders. 'And what does he mean when he said they've finally won?' _

Sighing, Ruiko sits back down on the floor to continue thinking about what he was talking about.

"Uiharu, Misaka, Shirai. I hope you manage to find where I'm held at." The girl hopes for her friends.

**School District 19**

**3:00 P.M.**

Jason ziplines through the city skylines as the streets down below are busy with the usual traffic and all. Not much is known about the 19th School District other than that it's been in decline for sometime. This is usually where it became one of the fronts for Academy City's Dark Side.

The Master Assassin then drops from his rope launcher's zipline and lands on a nearby rooftop four stories above ground. After eavesdropping on one of Birch's men about the arms deal going on, Jason watches from a distance as a PMC (Private Military Company) convoy drives up inside the opposite building's garage before its door closes behind the armored vehicle.

_'Looks like this is the place.' He deduces. 'I'll have to get closer and find a spot where I can locate this arms dealer. I find him, I find where Birch has Ruiko.'_

He then parkours over a large gap between the rooftop he was on and the rooftop of the safehouse the deal will take place. He lands on the wall of the building and then climbs, grabbing hold of each crack or loose brick. Reaching the ledge of the safehouse's rooftop, his surroundings change instantly as he is now already on the said rooftop, fully confusing the Assassin.

"Honestly. If you're going to go rescue Saten all on your own, you could've at least let us help you." A familiar voice says with a sigh.

Jason looks from behind to see none other than Shirai, along with Misaka and Uiharu.

"Guys?!" He says in a confused tone. "What the hell are you three doing here?"

"Same thing you're doing right now." Misaka explains with her arms crossed.

"I didn't need your help with me climbing to the top." He says in annoyance. "So if you excuse me, I'm about to eavesdrop on the deal that's going down real soon."

He was about to walk away from them when Uiharu grabs hold of his shoulder.

"Jason, we came here to help you get Saten back. She's our friend too."

"It's too dangerous for you three. These guys are nothing you've faced before. I'm not taking that risk." He refuses their help as he yank her hold on him and continues walking. However, the flower headed girl and the others wouldn't allow it.

"Be stubborn all you want, but you're not in this alone now and we're getting involved since they took her." She continues to insist when he stopped walking. "So you're going to let us help you, whether you want it or not. We're your friends too, and that makes you a part of our group."

Jason realizes that these three girls are stubborn as hell and won't let him do it alone. Deep down he knows that.

Giving in, he sighs in defeat.

"Alright." He slowly nods. "Okay. You three are in. But you have to listen to whatever I tell you, so you don't end up killed. For now, we need to keep a look out for that arms dealer when he shows up. Can I count on you?"

The three look at each with smiles, successful that they got through to him. They then look back at him with serious expressions on their faces, and nod in agreement.

"Thank you." He says with a smile before turning serious as well. "Now follow me, but quietly."

Jason then throws on his hood and gets in a crouching position before giving a hand signal to do what he does. The four then quietly make their way towards a glass ceiling window where they then crouch down behind cover and peek inside.

Inside the safehouse, a large truck full of illegally obtained weapons inside small crates are being exchanged between a group of kevlar wearing militia exchanging a briefcase full of U.S. money to the arms dealer dressed in the same body armor they're in. The Templar dealer's men are helping the militia load up many of the weapons in another truck that belongs to the PMC convoy.

"Fifty million as promised." One of the militia soldiers said to the dealer as he gives him the case.

The dealer looks inside it to see it full of money. He then gives to one of his men for inspection so that it isn't counterfeit and that it is the right amount for the weapons that the PMC bought.

"Everything checks out, sir." The Templar that finished inspecting says to the arms dealer to which the latter nods at him which is an order for the former to finish helping with the last of the crates.

"What do you hope to accomplish with the weapons we're providing you?" He asks the militia soldier.

"The usual." The soldier answers as he looks back at his men loading up the weapons onto their convoy truck. "Contracts, more contracts. That sort of thing."

When the last crate is loaded up, he then nods at his men to get the convoy to move out soon and radio the pilot to get their cargo aircraft in School District 23 ready as soon as they return back with the weapons they've purchased. He then focuses his attention back at the dealer.

"Other than that, we've been hired to deal with a vigilante hacker that's been pissing our clients off in the last few days. Told us that he's been on their list for years. Not really my business to ask questions, anyway."

"I can relate." The arms dealer nods in understanding. "My boss has been tasked to deal with our own vigilante problems here in Academy City. I just hope that this guy we're after is put down."

Back with the teens from above that are listening in on the two still talking, Jason uses Eagle Vision and the arms dealer is highlighted gold as a target while the rest are in red.

_'Twenty hostiles. All armed. If I want to avoid killing that Templar arms dealer and risk losing the only lead we have on finding Birch, I'll need to eliminate his men first. The PMC isn't what we're after, so there's no need to go after them.'_

"That's a lot of weapons." Misaka comments.

"Yeah. Who are those guys in camouflage? The ones buying the illegal weapons?" Shirai wonders.

"Those look be from a Private Military Company." Uiharu guesses. "Shouldn't we stop them?"

"I could use my shocks to knock them all out. Makes things easier." Misaka suggests as she's about to go in before Jason stops her.

"They're not who we're after." Jason reminds the Level 5 tsundere. "And we need that arms dealer awake not knocked out by your trigger happy ability so were short on time."

"Excuse me?" She glares at the Assassin, offended by that insult. "Trigger happy? I'll have you know, that my ability can do far more than what you're-."

Jason ignores her and jumps down through the glass ceiling, shattering it in the process.

"Again?!" She annoyingly questions. "Does he have to do that?! That's it, he's not gonna do this alone on my watch!"

"Sissy, wait!" Shirai stops her again. "Why don't take some time to watch and learn? Maybe we can find some of his fighting skills to improve our current limits. Not to mention they probably have a jammer to disrupt our AIM diffusion fields so we won't stand a chance without our powers, even if we do have hand-to-hand combat experience."

Misaka stops for a moment to think and sees that Shirai has a good point. They rather not join in on the fun just yet, otherwise they might end up killed.

Sighing, the Railgun stands down and decides to wait for now.

**At the Same Time Shirai is Talking to Misaka...**

The glass ceiling from above shatters as Jason lands inside the safehouse, catching the attention of both the PMC soldiers and Templars. Jason then stands up from his kneeling position and gives out his smirk towards them.

"What the hell?" One of PMC soldiers says in confusion.

"Remember children, this is a contact sport." Jason quips before taking out his recently new custom made dual pistols and open fires on a Templar with a few multiple shots, killing him.

These sidearms are custom made by Jason himself with the model being almost similar to the FN Five Seven, which uses a magazine of a about twenty bullets. The difference, however, is that the color of the guns are steel grey and introduces a new function he was able to add with the knowledge from the Apple he has stored away back in the Sanctuary. This function allows Jason to switch between being a suppressor (which is built in both sidearms) and a non-suppressor. Right now, it's on the latter option when he killed one of the Templars that are all present.

"Shit, it's him!" Another Templar shouted.

"Return fire!" The Templar arms dealer commanded.

They complied and open fire at the Assassin who evaded the gunfire coming at him as he makes his way to them.

One of the PMC soldiers was about to join in but was stopped by one of his fellow comrades.

"No!" He says. "We can't risk losing the weapons! Right now, we're leaving! Let them deal with him!"

The soldier in question nods without hesitation and jumps in an armored vehicle along with the other militia soldiers and the PMC convoy makes an immediate getaway, exiting the safehouse with the weapons they have now and make their way onto the highway.

Meanwhile, the Templars are still firing on Jason still coming towards them. The Assassin then peforms a kick charge, knocking one of them down and kills him with one of his dual pistols. Then, he holsters his sidearm and takes out a new kind of EMP grenade, and throws it at them. It detonates, stunning them a bit and fried their military-graded assault rifles.

Jason takes out his Kukri knife and gets in a fighting position. Seeing this, the eight remaining Templars took out their long security batons and the first two charge towards him. The Assassin easily dodges the swing from the first one, and kills him by slicing his abdomen and throat open. The second he dispatches by stabbing him through the chest, and then throws his knife, vertically spinning towards the third guy, going right through the head (as Misaka, Shirai, and Uiharu finch hard at the brutal kill) that leaves the now dead guy standing up. Jason runs up to the fourth and kills him with his left primary hidden blade through the chest, and tosses his dead corpse aside. He then runs to the fifth who is about to swing his baton at him but misses as Jason has slide underneath him. He runs to the third dead Templar and pulls his knife out of the corpse's head (as the body collapses to the floor) and then focuses his attention back to the fifth as the latter was about to surprise him with a swing, only to be parried along with his good arm being grabbed by the Assassin and stabs through his hand covered face (or simply, his hand over his face). Jason then pulls the Kukri out and puts it back in his coat, and throws a throwing knife at the sixth Templar and shoots him twice with one of his dual sidearms. He then throws another knife at the seventh before he could make a move on the Assassin, in which the throwing weapon goes through the Templar's throat. The guy tries to remove it but was already bleeding out from his throat and the Assassin then kicks him down and performs an Assassination on him with his hidden blade.

The last Templar standing, happening to be the arms dealer, attempts to surprise attack him from behind only for the Asssassin to catch it without looking. He then turns around and punches him in the face which broke his nose, resulting the Templar to fall to the floor and covering his nose from the severe bleeding.

"Son of a-! Fuck!" He curses in pain.

With the fighting over, Shirai uses her ability to teleport herself, Uiharu, and Misaka inside the safehouse.

"I know that we've seen plenty of killers before, but I don't we've seen this kind of level before." Uiharu says as she takes a look around the dead bodies of Templars.

"And he just killed Anti-Skill officers in order to get to that arms dealer." Shirai points out.

"Not Anti-Skill." Jason corrects them as he turns to them. "These guys used Anti-Skill's name as a front for their operations behind the curtain."

"So what? We're facing an organization from Academy City's dark side?" Misaka sarcastically guesses.

"Worse than that." He answers.

The Assassin then puts his foot down on the arms dealer to prevent him from getting up. Kuroko notices this and used her powers to bind the arms dealer clothing to the ground with her weapons. Jason looks back at her and they both nod at each other. He looks back at the arms dealer not removing his foot down from him.

"I want a word with your boss Reginald Birch II. Where is he?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." He nervously denies.

"Don't lie to me!" He angrily says. "I know you work for him! And you are going to tell us where he is!"

"I-I don't know! I swear!" The Templar continues to deny.

All of a sudden, a smartphone falls out of the man's pocket. Jason picks it up as the girls walk beside him and got a look at the phone, only to realize that it's familiar looking.

"That's Saten's old phone!" Uiharu exclaims in shock. "I thought it was lost forever!"

"What?!" Misaka says in confusion as she looks up close before looking down at the arms dealer. Static started to swarm around her in anger. "Where did you get my friend's phone?"

"Answer. The question." Jason demands as he starts crushing him with his boot.

"You got nothing on me. Y-y-you can't prove that.." He says in English while struggling to break free.

Although he's speaking English, Misaka can understand some of what he's saying while Shirai and Uiharu can't.

"* English* I don't need to... NOW, WHERE DID YOU GET IT?!" He demands suddenly, scaring the girls at how angry he's becoming. Even Misaka's sparks slightly dimmed down by that.

"Stop! I'll talk!" He shouts in Japanese out of fear. "A few months back, I found it off of a bunch of thugs that use to work for SCHOOL and learned that they stole it from a middle school girl they kidnapped last October! Turns out it's the same girl the commander and our superiors were looking for, so I sent a copy of the intact personal info that was on the phone to my boss!"

When the girls heard this they were in shock. Uiharu begins to shed tears about this revelation while Shirai and Misaka are beyond pissed.

"You stalking bastard!" Misaka angrily as her sparks started to grow. "You gave a copy of my friend's personal information to the man that has her?! Why?!"

"I was just following orders! Only the commander and my superiors know!" The arms dealer said as fear began to get the better of him.

"And where is Birch holding her?" The Assassin impatiently demands before picking him up tearing off the bindings from his clothing with his brute strength and holding him by the collar. "If she's been laid a finger on, I promise you that I'll give you a fate worse than just a crippled body."

"He's holding the girl in the 19th School District!" The Templar answers. "At the newly popular Academy Royal Hotel! That's all I know I swear!"

"Stealing Saten's phone is bad enough," Misaka says angrily as electrical shocks surround her. "But selling her personal information to someone? You're disgusting. I hope that you face justice for what you've done."

"He already has," Jason says with pure hatred in his voice.

Confusing the girls as well as the arms dealer, Jason whacks him in the face with the butt of one of his custom made dual pistols, knocking the Templar down and kills him with a shot to the face. Blood now spills everywhere, as this gave the girls eyes widen in shock and fear. Their friend killed him in cold blood. They'd never forgive the man for selling Saten's private information to Birch and his superiors, but he didn't deserve this.

"I-I don't... how..." Uiharu struggles to speak the words due to what just unexpectedly happened.

"Why did you kill him?" Misaka demands the boy while still in shock. Her sparks died down after what she saw. "We could've called Anti-Skill and leave him to them!"

Kuroko prepared herself just incase if Jason would do anything threatening.

"And allow them to let him go and continue doing what he's done?" Jason talks back. "And what do you know about justice? No matter how many times they're put on trial and put in a cell. No matter how much we can expect the system to do it's a damn job right. The ones that crossed the line in killing innocent people over and over again refuse to redeem themselves, and rather care for themselves and let them die or be executed by their hands. All for the sake of their self-righteous cause. You want those that can change and be better than they use to be. But what happens to those that want to do it again for evil purposes? I'm doing what the justice system fails and won't do. I may kill, but I'm not a slaughterer of innocents. And that's the only - the ONLY - line I'll never cross. So this isn't the time to argue about this! Help me save Ruiko. Or get out of the way. Your choice."

The trio is once again shocked at his speech as well as feel ashamed at the same time. They know that killing is bad, but deep down he's right. How can they trust a system that's so broken that no one else wants to make it better?

Jason sighs and turns toward the garage door that was left opened and heads outside.

"Come on. And I promise you, I won't let her die. You have my word."

**3:30 P.M.**

It's already been a few hours and her friends are taking a lot longer than she thought. And then, she realized something.

"Of course!" Ruiko facepalms. "Why didn't I think of that? I could just break out of here instead of waiting for them to come rescue me."

The Level 0 girl then took out a hair pin from one of her pockets to and uses it to concentrate on opening her cell. After a few seconds, the door unlocks and she exits the cell. Just as she heads for the room's exit, she notices a black rubber suit on a small table on her right. However, she blushes shyly.

"T-That suit was so embarassing to wear." She says aloud. "It was when I was told to wear it to hide my identity as a witness during the Cold Sleep Murder Case. And I wasn't even wearing anything underneath it!"

Left with no other choice, Ruiko stripped off all of her entire clothes including bra and panties and puts on the suit. She then finally zips up the front zipper to conceal her exposed body. Unfortunately, she didn't expect it to be so tighter than before the last time she wore it. Not to mention, her perfect boobs making it worse.

She gathers her normal clothes and puts it in a bag she found lying on the floor, and goes to the door that has a keypad. The girl then decides to try something with her new ability. Entering the same black and white surroundings, she notices the numbers on the keypad to be covered in four index fingerprints that's highlighted in white by the ability. She enters the first possible 4-digit code and gets an error.

"Shit!" She curses on the first try.

She tries it again with a different combination, only to get another error.

"Come on!" She frustratingly says on the second attempt.

She enters another different combination into the keypad and the door finally opens.

"Yes!" Ruiko shouts in triumphed while clenching her fist in the air before making a run for it as she finds a way out while carrying her clothes in a backpack. "Time to leave this popsicle stand."

**To Be Continued... **


	12. Sequence 3: Chapter 6

**Sequence 3: Chapter 6**

**School District 19**

**Academy Royal Hotel**

**3:20 P.M.**

**10 minutes earlier…**

"The Academy Royal Hotel." Misaka says aloud as the four teens stand from a great distance while looking in awe at the building. "I've never heard of this place before."

"Well you're in luck, Sissy. Because I do." Shirai proudly says to her roommate. "This place is described as one of – if not – THE most popular hotel in Academy City due to its iconic twin towers (Though I wonder why that sounds tragically familiar for some reason). It's famous for housing three casinos in a single hotel and one penthouse on each tower. There's even an overview bar that's between the towers and is suspended above the lobby."

"Sounds like the place Saten would want to go to." Uiharu comments. "Well, minus the overview bar."

"And she really is oblivious about the consequences of casinos." Jason shakes his head as he briefly recalls the time when he notices Ruiko being unaware about her surroundings sometimes and almost get killed for it like that trip she had at Liberal Arts City in the U.S. _"Too bad that place is at the bottom of the Pacific. Would really like to go there."_

"Anyone notice a sniper on the balcony of the entrance?" Misaka points out as the said sniper is posted on the front entrance balcony. "I could knock him out with my ability, but for some reason I can't even use it."

"Mine and Uiharu's too, Sissy." Shirai says as the trio attempted to test their abilities if they're still working. "Birch is somehow allowing his men to use the AIM jammer to prevent us from using our powers. But I don't see one anywhere."

"I'll check it out." Jason volunteers before firing his rope launcher from his Assassin gauntlet and grapples up to a rooftop from a building that's behind them.

"How come he gets a grappling hook while we're stuck without our powers?" The Level 5 complains. "I thought rescuing Saten is going to be easy."

"You really shouldn't get too cocky." The Teleporter lectures her. "Remember when you caused a blackout to the entire city twice in a single month? I thought you learned from this mistake by now."

"I don't think you should be talking, Shirai." The Flower headed girl says to her Judgement partner. "You have a habit of taunting enemies while on patrol in Judgement, remember?"

Shirai sweat drops while nervously chuckling.

"W-Well you see, the thing is Uiharu, is that I wanted to demonstrate to Sissy on how being reckless and overconfident with an ability like mine could have an effect on her life."

Misaka crosses her arms with an unconvinced look on her face.

"Uh huh. Sure." She sarcastically says to the perverted Teleporter.

The three were interrupted when they heard a scream from a distance and quickly notice to see Jason assassinating the sniper while hanging on the ledge of the balcony before he throws him off in the process and climbs over the stone rail. The Templar sniper's scream was silenced when his body hit the ground.

"Okay, I think it's safe to say that killing him by stabbing him while hanging from below and throwing the bleeding guy off the balcony is a bit overkill." Misaka comments with a cringey expression while her friends nod in the same manner.

Just then, Uiharu's phone buzzes and she answers it.

"_**Sniper's taken out. It seems some of Birch's men are outfitted with miniature AIM jammers installed in their tactical headset goggles." Jason gives the all clear while explaining how the girls' AIM diffusion fields and calculations are being interfered with. "Come on up so we can head inside."**_

Hanging up her phone, Uiharu and Misaka grab onto Shirai's shoulders and the latter teleports her and her friends up to where Jason's waiting for them.

"Was that really necessary?" Shirai annoyingly asks the Master Assassin. "I know that you're killing for the greater good and all, but you could've at least tried to cover your tracks."

"If you're talking about the sniper I just took out, then you should know that I'm very discreet with the clean kills I've made since it's in the job description." Jason explains while walking towards the door. "Plus, my tracks are covered since I wear gloves."

"Okay, but you forget that there are city surveillance cameras almost everywhere." The Railgun points out the one flaw that he's already aware of. "Anti-Skill or Birch's unit would've tracked you down."

"I know. However, they don't know I was even there because the coat I'm wearing is made from a cloth material entirely invisible to cameras, including thermal, sonar, and night vision."

"Seriously?" The trio says in disbelief.

"…" He remains silent as he opens the door and heads on inside the hotel with the girls not too far behind.

When they're inside, the four are shocked to see dead bodies everywhere. They all look to be hotel employees.

"Bodies everywhere." Misaka mutters in horror.

"Oh my God…" Uiharu says covering her mouth as she is terrified by the sight of it.

"Be on your guard, everyone." Shirai informs them.

They then reach the main floor of the lobby while trying to not pay attention to the corpses lying around. However, Jason just vaults over the rail and lands on the ground.

"There seems to be a security room, right over there." He gestures with a nod before making his way toward one of the tower's main elevators.

"And where do you think you're going?" Misaka asks with a suspicious look on her face.

"I'm going to head upstairs and find Ruiko. Once she's safe, I'm going after Birch."

"Hold on, you're going to kill Birch?" Shirai asks in shock. "He's an Academy City Director and the head of Anti-Skill. There are other ways to prove he's rotten to the core."

"That's not how this war of mine works. If I eliminate him now, it'll be difficult for his shadowy superiors to look for a valuable replacement."

"Just who are these guys, anyway? If what you said is true, then you know more about them than us."

"We can talk about this later. I'm heading upstairs now." Jason says, wanting to focus on the mission. "Misaka, you're with me. They most likely disabled the elevators so we may need to restore them while on our way up."

"Right." Misaka agrees as she then places her hand on the panel, turning back on the elevator as its door opens for them. The two then enter the elevator.

"What about us? It's better if we look for her faster." Shirai confusingly asks.

"Sorry Kuroko, but we're probably going to need you and Uiharu to stay down here and use the security cameras to help us find any resistance that comes in our way. We'll be back soon."

"But-!" The Teleporter starts to argue but the elevator door closes on them.

"Don't be like that Shirai." Uiharu pats her friend's back with a reassuring smile. "I'm sure those two will find Saten together."

Shirai sighs in defeat.

"Fine. Let's go check the cameras." She laments as the two partners head for the security room.

**With Misaka and Jason…**

As the elevator stops at the tenth floor of the western tower, the two exit the elevator and walk the hallways of the said floor before turning a corner.

"Why are we on the tenth floor?!" Misaka rants to herself. "I thought the elevator will take us to the penthouse suite!"

"ONE of the penthouses." Jason corrects her. "And this is as high the elevator would go since this hotel has elevators limited to ten floors each as a safety measure should there be a potential danger happening to the hotel itself."

Misaka groans at this, impatient with the rescue mission.

"Forty more floors to search through? That's a waste of time!"

"Patience is a virtue, Misaka." He lectures her with annoyance in his hooded covered expression. "We can't rush this, otherwise, we might end up provoking Birch to just kill Ruiko. But we're not checking every floor to find her, remember? We head for the next elevator which will take us to twentieth floor and get to the next one, and so on. At least use your brain occasionally."

Before she could argue back with her tsundere antics, the two teens stop in their tracks to see more dead employees lying around.

"I can't even bare to look at this anymore." The Railgun says in disgust. "Why would Birch and his men do this?"

"They just don't care." The Master Assassin simply answers her question before contacting Uiharu and Shirai. "You guys seeing this?"

"_**Yeah." Shirai answers with shocked looks. "This isn't right! Birch and his Anti-Skill unit are supposed to protect civilians, not murder them for anything they weren't even involved in!"**_

"_**But why would a heartless person like him be doing this?" Uiharu questions herself in the same disgusted tone. "These people didn't deserve to be slaughtered."**_

"Like I said, it's for their self-righteous cause." He reminds them as he and Misaka enter another elevator with the help of the Level 5's powers, and head for the 20th floor. "Anyways, were you able to find Birch?"

"_**No." Uiharu answers with disappointment. "All we found in the upper floor's security footage are more dead bodies. All of them are employees. When Shirai and I went to access the cameras in the eastern tower, they're not showing up."**_

"It's most likely a trap at the eastern tower." Jason theorizes as they have reached floor 20. "Misaka and I are on floor 20. We'll be in touch if you need us."

The two continued towards the next elevator until they have reached the 30th floor where the overview bar is connected between the two towers. They could continue going upstairs toward the western penthouse, but…

"It's better if we split up. Cover more ground."

"Hold on, you're leaving now?!" Misaka says in shock.

"I'm not leaving you. That would be cruel of me to do. I'm going on over to the eastern tower. With any luck, maybe I'll find Ruiko first before you do." Jason specifies his statement before challenging her into finding and rescuing their friend.

"Oh? Is that a challenge then?" Misaka notices the expression on his face before returning it with her own smirk. "I accept your challenge. Good luck!"

She then quickly runs off to reach toward the western penthouse suite hoping to beat him, while leaving behind Jason who is now all alone.

"Misaka sure is hotheaded and childish sometimes." He chuckles before entering the overview bar to look for Ruiko.

**Meanwhile…**

**3:55 P.M.**

Ruiko has spent almost half an hour finding a way downstairs and is able to use the eastern penthouse suite's main elevator to get down to the 30th floor. The only problem is that all the elevators that could take her down to the lobby aren't working, and the fire exit stairwells are locked shut. In other words, the girl is stuck on the floor she's currently on.

"There has to be a way downstairs, but the fire exits are barricaded on the other side." Ruiko says to herself before putting her hands over her head. "Argh! And this bodysuit didn't come with any boots! It's like I'm entirely naked without clothes!"

The Level 0 stops as she then looks down at her bare feet. Her toenails have silver glitter on them and gives a shimmering attraction. She then blushes deeply at the real reason why she painted them on her toenails. It was to unconsciously help her impress the boy she has a huge crush on, who happens to be none other than her classmate and 2nd best friend Jason.

"W-Wait a sec!" She stammers in shock at what she was starting to think of. "No, no, no! Why would I show some of my girly side towards him?! He and I are just friends!"

Ruiko then unconsciously unzips the front of her black rubber bodysuit, revealing part of her slightly large breasts that are pressed against each other, as well as her bellybutton. She then slowly puts her hands inside her suit and begins to massage her boobs, earning a ping of pleasure through her senses.

"Ohhhhh…" She moans softly.

However, she then gasps to herself and covers her mouth at what she's doing to herself.

"_D-Did I just moaned while doing something so… s-so shameless?!" She says in her thoughts. "This isn't right! I'm not a pervert! B-But this feeling, i-it feels so… it feels s-so.. s-so.."_

The pretty girl never got to finish her thoughts when she is interrupted by the sound of a hallway door opening just around the corner. Taking her hand out of her suit, she then makes a run for another door only to learn that it's locked. Ruiko realizes that she's cornered and if she tries to lockpick it, she'll still end up being caught or even killed. It's most likely one of Birch's guards patrolling.

Just then, a shadow of a hooded man reaches out to her. Feeling scared and nervous, Ruiko turns around with a scream and lands a sucker punch on him, knocking the person back. After doing that, she held her hand in slight pain at the punch she just threw at him.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Ruiko winces in pain.

"Holy shit. I mean, wow. I didn't know you can punch THAT hard." The hooded person's familiar voice jokingly compliments while rubbing his jaw.

"Jason?!" She exclaims in surprise when she realized who she just punched at. _"And since when did that coat of his has a hoodie?"_

"Good to see you, Ruiko." He casually greets. "Wait. How'd you even escape from Birch and his men? I don't even see any guards patrolling here."

"I just sneaked myself out of the penthouse." She shrugs. "That Birch guy was busy observing the city skyline and there were just three from his so-called 'unit'."

"Just three?" He dumbfoundedly asks her in disbelief. "You're joking."

"No, really! I easily sneaked past them and used the elevator to get to this floor!" She says before realizing something. "Hey! You just changed the subject! The more important question is, how are you even here?! And where is everybody?"

"I had help. Misaka, Uiharu, Shirai, they all came along to rescue you as well."

"Of course, they'd come to find and rescue me." She rolls her eyes with a cheeky grin. "They're our friends after all."

"But the employees here… they're all dead." He says with remorse.

"What?" She says in horror. "Oh no…"

"If I'd known that Birch was planning to kill them, I might've been able to save them too." He says in anger. "Bastard."

"B-But why would he do this? I don't even know what's going on here!"

Jason looks down in shame for keeping secrets from her.

"I'm sorry for dragging you and the others into this life of mine."

"Huh?" She confusingly asks. "What do you mean? Wait. Then that must mean… *gasps* It's you. You're the Assassin that Birch was talking about. B-But if that's true, then did you really murdered that high school student?"

"I tried to save him, Ruiko. He gave up his life so that I might save others from sharing the same fate he and others before him did. But you're right about one thing: I assassinate people, but only the ones that truly deserve it. And I did it for the greater good of humanity. It's why I don't kill innocents or those that have a chance of redeeming themselves."

Ruiko was a bit shocked at his real reasoning of taking lives to save many innocents. Not out of fear or anger, but out of concern and sadness. Ever since the fall of Liberal Arts City, she has seen so much violence throughout her adventures with her friends. Somehow, in a disturbing way, she has started to grow use to that violence and it surprisingly sickens her. But now, with these recent visions of that Assassin clad in white and red, maybe there's a connection between Jason and the one she keeps seeing in her sleep.

"_Maybe I could learn of this secret heritage I know nothing about. Maybe he knows about it more than what I've been cryptically told." She says in her thoughts. _

"Will you go after him then? Are you going to kill Birch if you're doing this for the greater good?"

"I have to. There's no other way to stop him from ever doing it again."

"Then why do this for the greater good? You must have another reason besides the one you told me."

"Because I made a promise. A promise that I intend to keep. Whatever the cost."

"I-I don't know what else to say. And what will you tell Misaka? And Shirai and Uiharu?"

He simply sighs to her.

"I've been lying to you about being an Esper for too long now. Once I'm done here, I'll explain as much as I can."

"Thank you." She nods in understanding before giving him a sad smile. "I guess I should hold you to that then."

"I'm sure you will." He returns her expression towards her before he starts blushing softly and looks away. "Um, Ruiko? Y-your boobs are showing."

"Hmm?" She says in confusion before looking down at her unzipped suit and starts blushing deeply and tries to cover her chest while becoming shy once more in front of her huge crush. "Waahhhh! I-I'm so sorry! I don't know why I did that! This suit is so tighter than I thought and could barely move in it!"

"Then why did choose to wear it?!" He says trying his best to resist the temptation of looking at her perfectly medium-large breasts.

"I-I needed it to escape from those creeps that are upstairs!" She shyly shouts.

Jason then looks at her and slowly zips the zipper up on her suit before stopping to where here boobs are showed in the middle.

"There." He says while taking a deep breath in calming down, his blush going away. "Now you don't have to worry about being too stiff in that bodysuit."

She looks down and sees it at halfway as her blush starts to die down.

"T-Thanks."

"Oh! That reminds me." Jason says as he shows Ruiko her good luck charm she dropped earlier.

"My charm!" She exclaims with joy. "I knew I dropped it back in that alley where I was kidnapped!"

"That's not all." He says with a smug look on his face. "I even took this back."

He then reveals her old phone to her, in which she is in pure shock and happiness.

"My old phone!" She says while taking both the charm and electronic device from him and checks her old phone's contents. "I-I thought I lost to those SCHOOL guys last October! And everything is left intact! I don't know what to say, Jason. How?"

"Your old phone was taken off by one of Birch's men and has been holding onto it for a few months. Luckily, I manage to steal it back for you."

"Aw, that's sweet of you." Ruiko jokingly smiles. "Thanks."

"Heh, heh." He chuckles. "No problem. Anything for you."

Ruiko giggles at his comment since he tends to be funny sometimes. However, she wondered how one of Birch's men got his hands on her old smartphone. Whatever could've led to her kidnapping, it's most likely not good and she'd rather not know other than the fact that they have a file on her in the last few months.

The Master Assassin then uses his earpiece to contact Misaka and the others.

"_Oh! Jason! Thank goodness!" The voice of Uiharu chimes loudly in his earpiece, making him wince at the loudness. "We've been trying to reach you the moment after you and Misaka began splitting up!"_

"Yeah, sorry about that." He apologizes to her and Shirai. "But I've got good news for you: I found Ruiko. She's right beside me."

"_You found Saten?!" She says with joy and relief. "She's okay!"_

"I'm glad you're happy, Uiharu. So, how's Misaka doing?"

"_Sissy managed to reach for the western penthouse suite. And from what she found up there, it's not good." Shirai answers his question with a serious tone. "Patching her over to you now."_

"Misaka, what's going on up there?"

"_I'm really glad that you got Saten out, Jason." Misaka thanks the Assassin. "But as for what I've found in the western penthouse suite, I'm now seeing bombs everywhere around the suite's pool area just a floor below the penthouse. And there's enough of these explosives to take out this entire suite I'm in. What's even worse, is that they're all on standby! Birch might detonate them anytime now!"_

"Listen to me. Do not attempt to disarm them with your ability." Jason warns the Railgun. "They could have a failsafe to counteract it and trigger the bombs immediately. Get down to the overview bar and meet up with Ruiko. My work here isn't done yet."

"_Eh?!" The girls on the comms - except Ruiko – exclaimed in shock._

"Birch is still here, in the eastern penthouse." Jason explains calmly. "He's not leaving this place alive."

"_Look, I understand that you have a bone to pick with an Academy City director and head of a military police force, but this isn't the time for you to go and play the anti-hero you already are! And even if you do manage to kill him, you'll paint more targets on your back! Not to mention that there are similar bombs at the other penthouse Birch might be in!" Misaka attempts to reason with the Assassin._

"_Sissy's right." Shirai agrees. "What's more important right now is getting Saten to safety."_

"_Not to mention that there's no time." Uiharu elaborates further. "Shirai and I hacked into his men's communications and just learned that someone tipped Anti-Skill off about a disturbance in the hotel."_

"Either it's reinforcements for Birch or Yomikawa's unit." Jason guesses. "And I don't think the four of you guys want to be questioned by either of them, considering that you are involved in this mess."

"_I-I guess you're right about that." Shirai groans in defeat._

Jason ends communications and then turns to Ruiko who is now looking at him face to face.

"Ruiko, you can make your way to where I came from and head for the western tower. You can meet up with Misaka at the elevators."

"So, I guess there's no stopping you, is there?" Ruiko questions with a sad smile.

"I'm afraid not." Jason shakes his head in confirmation.

She then walks up to him and whispers in his ear.

"You better come back to us alive." The girl says with a smile. "You owe us answers after all."

"I plan to." Jason smirks at her before turning serious. "Now go. Get you and the others to safety. I'll be right behind you."

Ruiko hesitates at first but then gives a serious expression and nods.

"Right." She says and heads in the direction to where he came from before stopping and turns her head back towards him with concern in her eyes. "Good luck… and be careful."

"I will." Jason promises.

And like that, Ruiko makes her way to the overview bar and head for the opposite tower to meet up with Misaka at the elevator.

"Alright Birch." He says aloud while still serious. "It's you and me now. Time to show you what happens when you kidnap one of my friends."

**4:03 P.M.**

It wasn't long until both Misaka and Ruiko to meet up with Uiharu and Shirai back down in the lobby. The reunion was quite… 'normal' for the Level 0. Her best friend Uiharu wouldn't stop hugging her as she was being a bit overly dramatic in tears, thus Ruiko sweat drops at how awkward it's starting to become (no, seriously). She had to calm the flower-headed girl down with a flip of her skirt, flustering Uiharu once more. Laughter came out of the four girls at how this rescue turned to be quite an adventure. At least, a short one at that. However, this wasn't the right time to celebrate as Anti-Skill back up is arriving soon, and are left with no other choice but to escape the Academy Royal Hotel as Jason is wanting to deal with Birch since the Anti-Skill commander made it personal to the boy. To be fair, they don't blame him since the girls themselves would do the same thing if they were in his position.

**4:15 P.M.**

The girls are now sitting at a park just five city blocks away from the hotel and are beginning to worry about him.

"Of course!" Uiharu exclaims with a snap of her fingers. "Why didn't I think about it?"

"What is it, Uiharu?" Misaka asks her curiously.

"I think I might be able to hack into the hotel's security cameras and see what's going on back there in real time. Just give me a moment…" Uiharu explains while using her laptop to hack into every working security camera the hotel has active. "And there we are."

"Nice job, Uiharu." Ruiko – already back wearing her normal clothes - coolly compliments with a smirk. "The best hacker in Academy City at its finest."

"Heh, heh." The Level 1 chuckles nervously, flustered by her friend's compliment.

The girls then show a camera inside the hotel's eastern penthouse. And what they saw was just… badass (minus the killing, though). Jason just made a dramatic entrance by blowing the doors open, threw a smoke pellet at the small number of Birch's men protecting Birch himself, and enters the penthouse and manages to single-handedly them all take out, leaving only Birch standing near the glass window.

"I-I don't believe it!" Ruiko exclaims in shock at Jason's fighting style. "He just killed those guys like they mean nothing to him! I never dreamed of him being a badass!"

"You should've seen him take out ten of Birch's men on his own without any help." Shirai says, slowly getting use to Jason's methods. Sometimes.

"Eh?!" The Level 0 girl exclaims again with her eyes popped open. "The he must have the strength of ten bears! No… twenty bears!"

Her friends had to sweat drop at what she just said.

"R-Right." Uiharu nervously says with sarcasm, not convinced he's unbeatable.

"Unbelievable." Misaka shakes her head while looking down.

"Now you're just being a bit overdramatic, Saten." Shirai deadpans with annoyance in her expression.

"Still," Misaka changes the topic back as she looks at the laptop screen. "I wonder what Jason is gonna do with Birch."

"Isn't it obvious, Sissy?" The Teleporter says. "He's probably going to kill him since he mentioned about being part of his 'job description' if that's what he's keeps calling it."

At least she's right that Jason doesn't care about getting his hands a little dirty sometimes. But why is beyond her and her friends. Ruiko, however, is even more confused as to why Birch and his employers would go through all this trouble to kill Jason and see if she herself knows anything about some special 'keys' they're looking for. Luckily, they didn't kill her about not knowing anything they're talking about, but the fact remains is that she'll be needing answers soon after this is over.

And let's hope that Ruiko and her friends will get them.

**To Be Continued…**


	13. Sequence 3: Chapter 7

**Sequence 3: Chapter 7**

**Meanwhile…**

"Reginald Birch II. You should've left when you had the chance." Jason says as he grabs the helmet clad Master Templar by the collar and pins him to one of the penthouse's glass windows.

"You don't need to do this." The said Templar begins pleading. "I'll give you money. Drugs! Guns! Weapons! Whatever you want. Please, I'll take a plane. Leave Academy City. Never show my face again. Anywhere you want! I'll go anywhere!"

Jason thinks for a moment. He now has one of his targets in his hands, but something is off about Birch. Firstly, it's too easy as there aren't a lot of his men to guard and patrol the hotel. Secondly, the target is begging for his life which seems to be out of character for him as this is clearly not in his M.O. Why go all the trouble of having fewer guards to lure in the Assassin? Unless…

"How about you go to hell?" The Assassin darkly suggests before kicking him through the glass, shattering it as the Templar screams and falls to his death from 50 stories high.

"And if you see Vidic for me, tell him I said 'hello." He says with dark humor towards the broken window where the Templar fell to his death.

**(Switches to Girls' POV)**

"D-Did he just-?!" Ruiko sputters in completed shock at how brutal that kill was. "…Spartan-kicked Birch out the window?! That's crazy!"

"Right?" Uiharu agrees with her. "He does tend to go overkill from what we've seen earlier."

"Looks like Jason got what he wanted." Misaka concludes. "We should meet up with him once he's away from Anti-Skill or Birch's reinforcements."

"Right." The Level 1 nods as she then turns off her computer and the four got up and left to meet him back at School District 7.

**(Switches Back to Jason's POV)**

**4:23 P.M.**

Jason suddenly gets a call in his earpiece and learns that it's not his friends but the REAL Reginald Birch II himself.

"_**Well, well. I have to say, you really outdid yourself on that one." Birch sarcastically compliments the Assassin in English. "Of course, I wasn't there to experience it myself."**_

"So, you use your own men to act as doubles for you?" Jason scoffs in English.

"_**With voice modulators to mimic my voice, yes." He confirms.**_

"You're coward, Birch. Not even your colleagues would stoop THAT low."

"_**Says the boy that thinks he can just revive the Assassin Brotherhood and restart the eternal war that we, the Templars, have already won." The Templar laughs at his accusation. "You forget that we finally enforced the peace that we have been trying to achieve since Cain took the Apple from Abel. Do you not see? It is over for you and your kind, who'd rather keep conflict going on till humanity's end comes. We thought that you Assassins want the same thing."**_

"Once." The Assassin corrects his statement. "You want to create a better tomorrow for all of humanity, and I can I agree to that. On the other hand, however, I'm no fan of tyrants like you. And I'm going to make sure you and the Templars no longer disrupt the balance between Order and Freedom ever again."

"_**I like to see you try, boy." Birch dares him without fear. "Goodbye, Assassin. You and your foolish Creed ends now."**_

Suddenly, beeping sounds are heard as a countdown sequence appears on a series of HD Television monitors. They are counting down with the start of five seconds. Knowing that there's not enough time to get to the elevator, Jason makes a run for it and jumps out of the window just as the bombs' timers go off. The penthouse then explodes as the Assassin uses the rope launcher to zipline away from the burning parts of the western tower. Unfortunately, flying heavy debris lands on the tightrope, snapping off the Assassin insignia-shaped grappling hooks that are attached to the two opposite towers. Jason starts falling and crashes through the overview bar's circular glass ceiling window, and lands hard on the floor.

Jason grunts in pain as he begins standing up before a punch to the back of his head knocks him down. The Assassin turns his head around to see that it was none other than Daniel Cross. The Master Templar was about to kick him, but Jason counters it by stopping it with both of his hands and pushes him back while standing up again.

"Came to kill me, Cross?" Jason asks the Templar with no interest in fighting him.

"You killed the old man." Cross accuses him with anger in his voice. "And you left me to be humiliated! He was like a father to me!"

"A father who experimented on you for the Templar cause?" Jason scoffs. "Give me a break."

"I'm aware of what he did to me!" The Templar says. "He didn't want to endanger my safety in the Animus, but the higher ups wanted progress much sooner! He didn't have a choice!"

"There's always a choice!" The Assassin argues back. "What the Templar Inner Circle did was wrong. But that still doesn't justify the actions Vidic did for the other subjects. And he paid the damn price for it."

"Shut up! You don't know the old man like I do!" Cross angrily spats, not fully believing the truth. "So why don't you just fucking die already?!"

Cross takes out his silenced sidearm and opens fire at Jason who evades the bullets and hides behind a large metal crate full of wine.

"Let's not draw this out. You've got nowhere to go, and I've got a gun." Cross says as he reloads his pistol. "Speaking of which… It's the 21st century and you're still running around with only a tiny knife for protection? *chuckles* It's stupid."

"There's still a chance for you to make things right, Cross." Jason tries to persuade the brainwashed Templar. "Hannah wouldn't want you to still be their puppet that's waiting to be tossed away in the trash."

This only angered Cross even more when he heard that name.

"Don't you dare mention that name to me."

"You killed her, Cross. Both her and her friends. Hannah trusted you. She loved you more so than Vidic ever did. And you betrayed her trust and killed her in return. You and the rest of every Templar scum that would win the trust of others and betray them in such a short time."

"Fuck you! We want to help the world. To save it from itself. But you keep getting in the way. All our hard work, ruined. You're a fanatic. All your kind. Maintaining the erroneous belief that WE are evil. That the work WE do is wrong. We ENRICH lives. We SAVE and TRANSFORM them. But you… You just keep taking and taking what isn't yours!"

Before Cross could act, he starts to hear a high-pitch sound. He then holds his head with both hands and starts screaming.

"Not now… not now!" He screams in pain. "*Speaking in Russian* There's still work to be done! Get out of fucking head, damn it!"

Jason get out of his cover and stands to see Cross entering the Bleeding Effect again. He could leave him like this and escape, but Cross doesn't deserve to suffer and die like this. That leaves only one option left.

However, before Jason could do anything, an explosion rocks the overview bar knocking both individuals down on the floor. The bar then starts collapsing and begins falling from a greater height. Jason and Cross are getting knocked around by the gravity, unable to move around. Finally, the overview bar crashes through the ceiling window of the hotel lobby. And like that, everything went black to Jason.

**A Few Minutes Later…**

The Assassin (his hooded coat now covered in a few holes and burns) slowly wakes up from the crash. He sees that parts of the lobby are destroyed from the bar that crashed from above, along with the different parts being on fire. He tries to stand up but feels a lot of pain in him. He then looks down to see part of rebar stabbed through his right thigh. The Assassin begins to pull it out but grunts in pain.

Suddenly, he hears coughing from the still alive Templar who is now resting on a huge rubble from the already destroyed overview bar. He seems to be severely injured. Knowing that authorities or more of Birch's men would be here soon, Jason prepares for the pain and forcefully pulls the rebar out of his leg and screams loudly in agony. Blood trickles down his leg and Jason tears a part of his pants off him to temporarily stop any more blood loss.

Jason then slowly walks toward Cross, deciding to put the suffering brainwashed Templar down for good. Taking one last look at him, the Assassin crouches down and then flicks out his left hidden blade before stabbing him in the chest. As he did so, Jason's surroundings fall apart as he now enters the Black Room once again.

**(Black Room)**

"I'm sorry, Daniel." Jason solemnly apologizes to the dying Templar. "You didn't deserve to be their slave. But you chose to kill innocent people. I just wish there was another way to save you from this madness."

Cross didn't say anything as his life begins to slip away. However, he did utter one word.

"H-Hannah…" He says before taking in one last breath. And like that, Daniel Cross has finally died.

"Find peace in death. And may you walk amongst the living again in the next life." The Master Assassin gives his final rites in Italian and Latin as he closes the dead Templar's lifeless eyes. "Requiescat in pace."

**(Real World)**

After the real world returns to normal again, Jason struggles to stand up due to his injured leg. He grunts at the feel of the pain but manages to hold it in. He then starts running towards the front exit and makes it outside. He then notices a manhole on the street and since he spent a lot of time studying Academy City's sewer and underground system, the Assassin enters the manhole just as the sirens of authorities got closer to his position.

With blood dripping through the makeshift bandage, Jason makes his way around the sewers for the exit tunnel in School District 7. His boots treading through the dirty waters as he loses more blood, mixing in with the said water. It took almost an hour, but he managed to reach the exit.

**School District 7**

The Assassin climbs the ladder up to the street level and looks at his surroundings. Surprisingly, there a very few people around since curfew is almost here. Thunder is heard from the clouds as rain begins to pour down onto the city. Jason starts feeling a headache as he has lost a lot of blood from his right leg. He tries to stay on his feet as his hands are on the rails, but he just can't stay conscious while in his injured state. And not very long, he slips and slides down the rails and passes out from blood loss as a small pool of his blood from his leg mixes with the watery sidewalks from the rainstorm.

**5:16 P.M.**

"I don't like this." Ruiko says in concern as she and her friends are taking shelter at a subway station. "It's been almost an hour and Jason hasn't contacted us."

"I'm sure he made it out of there, Saten." Shirai does her best to explain why it's taking so long. "Though you do have a point since Anti-Skill and the nearest Fire Department arrived at the scene. I wonder where he is now."

"Then let's go look for him now." Misaka suggests who shares the same worried expressions from her friends. "He might be here in School District 7 by now if he's taking a long time to avoid the authorities or Birch's unit."

"His earpiece!" Uiharu exclaims with an idea on how they can locate him. Taking out her handheld hacking tool, she uses the numbered frequency she received from Jason on her cell phone and uses it to track his current location. "If I can use Jason's communication frequency number I have listed on my phone, I should be able to use my handheld to pinpoint where Jason's currently located."

"Good work, Uiharu." Ruiko praises her best friend's expertise in hacking once again.

It didn't take long but Uiharu manage to get a fix on the Assassin's location.

"Got it. He's about two miles from where we are."

"Then what are we waiting for?" The Level 0 says as she and the girls got up and make a run for his location while it's still currently raining.

**A Few Minutes Later…**

By the time they found him, however, it didn't take long for them to look on in horror at the injured state he's in.

"Oh my god…" Ruiko says in complete horror as her eyes are widened. "What did they do to you?"

"We need to get him medical attention. Now!" Misaka suggests.

However, Ruiko didn't respond to her along with Uiharu and Shirai.

"Saten, listen." Uiharu says with the same expression everyone has. "I know that we're in the same boat here, but we need to get him to a hospital before he dies! He's lost a lot of blood right now, so there's no time to think about what happened!"

Ruiko snaps out of her scared thoughts for now as her face turns serious. And thanks to the visions of the Assassin in white and red from her dreams, she's figured out how to help him and which hospital to take him to.

"R-Right." She nods. "We should take him to Heaven Canceller's hospital. He'll be able to treat and save Jason. Misaka, I'll need your help in carrying him."

"Why?" Misaka asks confusingly. "We could just call for an ambulance."

"I-I don't like the fact that Birch's men might be listening on our call for help. And I certainly don't want Jason to be hunted down and killed. Same for us, too."

"She's right, Sissy. We don't know who we can trust right now. And I can't just teleport with someone that's lost too much blood." Shirai agrees with the urban legend hunter. "We'll have to take to the hospital on foot."

"Alright." Misaka says before crouching down next to the unconscious Jason. "I'll carry him by his right, Saten. You take his left."

"Got it." Ruiko answers, and both she and the Railgun lift him up and start carrying him with his arms being held around the girls' shoulders.

"How far is the hospital, Uiharu?" Shirai asks the flower-headed girl.

"It's not far. It's around three minutes from where were standing." Uiharu answers while checking the GPS on her handheld.

"Thank goodness." Ruiko sighs in relief. "The sooner we're there, the better we're out of this rainstorm. And our clothes are a gonna be soaking wet if we don't leave now."

"Then let's go! There's no time to waste. Jason's life is now in our hands." Misaka says.

"Right." The Railgun's friends agreed as they make their way to Heaven Canceller's hospital.

Let's just hope that he'll be able to save him in time.

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
